Energy of Life
by Lucy Heart of Fairy Tail
Summary: It was strange how he suddenly felt this strange power within him that he couldn't understand, not only that but he sees things normal people can't see and feeling the natural energy all around him.
1. Hajimari

Here's the first chapter of the new Naruto fanfiction I made where Naruto was born with the ability to use Senjutsu chakra with some added twists to it, so enjoy the first two chapters!

* * *

 ** _"_** ** _The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."_**

 ** _-H.P. Lovecraft_**

* * *

Have you felt as though you were different from everyone else because you don't think the same things as they do? Or simply because of the way you look?

That's how Naruto felt since the very beginning. He could feel what everyone in the village thought of him if their glares and constant insults were an easy guess. He couldn't help that he was different from everyone else and in fact he was proud that he was different. The blonde wasn't thinking about the people of the village right now-no, right now he had a bigger problem, and the problem was the girl right in front of him. She had been crying her eyes out for what felt like hours without any signs of stopping and Naruto had no idea what to do, so he just stood there and let her cry. He was currently at the playground playing by himself again when he first spotted her. Looking around he noticed none of the adults were looking at her even when she started crying! At first she was trying to get people to pay attention to her but they ignored her as though she didn't even exist. After another attempt of her trying to get someone, anyone to look at her failed she started bawling her eyes out but even that didn't draw their attention to her. Not wanting to leave her alone he walked up to her allowing her to cry for a few more minutes before speaking finally.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

The girl's crying finally ceased and she looked at him with wide eyes, "You…you're able to see me…?"

Well…that wasn't what he was expecting her to say.

"Well yeah, of course I can see you! It's not like your invisible!" Naruto stated the obvious. If he could see her then why couldn't everybody else see her too?

She lowered her arms that were covering her eyes, "But I am to them," she motioned towards the villagers, "They won't even look at me, even ignoring me like I'm not even here."

He grabbed her hand, "Well I see you and I can hear you too, so don't cry anymore."

The girl smiled shyly, "Thank you, will you play with me?"

"Sure!"

The two children spent the rest of the day at the tossing the ball Naruto brought with him back and forth without a care in the world. If Naruto had to be honest with himself, this was the most fun he'd ever had with another kid. All the other kids avoided him probably because the adults told them too, but this girl didn't seem to care about that one bit and still played with him anyway. This was a happy day! They played until the sun started to set and soon the girl stopped passing the ball to him much to his confusion.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

She smiled, "I really had fun playing with you, Naruto." The girl's body became transparent.

"Wait! What's wrong?!" Naruto yelled.

She shook her head, "Nothing's wrong, its just that…I've realized something."

"What's that?"

The smile never left her face as she spoke again, "I'm…dead."

He felt actually felt his heart stop when she said that with a smile on her face as if stating the very fact that she was dead didn't even bother her.

"Dead…?" he forced the out the words.

She nodded, "That's why everyone ignored me, but you didn't. I'm glad that you played with me today and I'm glad you see me as a friend even though I'm not alive, thank you." Her body started dissipating into a yellow light.

"Wait-!"

"Oh, don't worry! I won't be the last you'll see. Since you can see me that means you san see _them_ too, but be careful because the bad ones might try to take you away and never give you back." And with that final message she disappeared leaving a heartbroken Naruto behind but he still took her words to heart.

He would be careful from now on and make sure the bad ones don't find him. It's a promise he'll keep to her.

* * *

Not long after he saw his first spirit he met another one in the form of an old man who wanted someone to talk to on the park bench. As usual, no one could see him but Naruto of course and not wanting to waste an opportunity to speak with another spirit he sat next to the old man and started talking to him making the elderly man smile. The old man's name was Hiroki and had once been a shinobi of Konoha during the Third Shinobi World War, of course Naruto didn't understand so Hiroki explained it to him. Konoha had been at war with Iwagakure no Sato and the man that ended the war preventing more lives from being sacrificed was Minato Namikaze-The Yondaime Hokage who gained the moniker Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō (Konoha's Yellow Flash). Naruto's small five-year-old mind didn't understand what the word "sacrifice" meant but he wanted to ask anyway.

"Hey, Hiroki-jiji what does sacrifice mean?" he asked with such innocence.

Hiroki contemplated his answer carefully before responding to the innocent child, "The word sacrifice has many different meanings, some of them not very good but that is the world you live in. I'll give you an example; Minato Namikaze ended the war by sacrificing the lives of the Iwa shinobi so the war would end. Do you understand?"

Naruto looked down, "The Yondaime…killed people…?"

"Yes, it may be hard for you to understand because you're still just a child but there are things in this world that you will be forced to do, with killing being the prime example. You may be forced to take a life should you choose to be a shinobi in the near future," Hiroki explained, "Do you want to be a shinobi?"

Naruto hadn't really thought about it before actually. All the shinobi here would give him mean looks just like the civilians, even call him mean names. After seeing how they act he wasn't so sure he wanted to be a shinobi.

"I don't know…they're all so mean to me." The blonde mumbled sadly.

Hiroki rubbed the boys head tenderly, "Don't let those blind fools sway your decision in whether you wish to be a shinobi or not."

Naruto gave the man a grin, "Thanks, Hiroki-jiji!"

"You're welcome," Hiroki stood up, "I better get going now."

The blonde was sad the man had to leave but smiled anyway, "See ya, Hiroki-jiji!"

"You as well my boy, oh before I forget there's a shrine located on the outskirts of Konoha. Go there and you'll find something interesting." With those final words Hiroki left the blonde alone.

The boy was confused as to why the old man told him what he did but didn't question it as he started walking out of the park, heading towards the outskirts of Konoha to go find that interesting thing Hiroki-jiji told him about. Hopefully Jiji won't be too mad at him for wandering out, but he really wanted to see what was out there.

* * *

Naruto had finally arrived along the outskirts of the village looking around for that interesting thing the old man told him about. Luckily it was still light outside so he was able to see his surroundings. Now that he was alone spending time away from those in the village he was able to hear the various sounds around him mostly from the animals that were around, and as strange as it sounds he could feel the plant life around him too. It was really weird. Lost in thought he didn't see a rock that was in front of him causing him to trip and fall but he managed to land on his hands. As soon as he landed on both hands cracks appeared in the ground as two hand print dents appeared right below the palm of his hands. The blonde sweat-dropped, _'I did it again…'_

Oh, did he forget to mention that he had awakened some kind of super strength? He did? Well, he's going to explain that now. Back when he was still living at the orphanage and was playing outside by himself again he had accidently used his super strength to help get a little kitten down from a tree. Honestly he was only thinking about it and thought that even if he followed this thought of his that it wouldn't even work. So…when he actually managed to push the tree back with enough strength to bend it over with everyone in the orphanage seeing him do it, well lets just say he was taken by surprise. Needless to say the little kitten got down from the tree and ran off leaving the blonde to stare at his hands in total confusion, wondering how in the hell was he able to do what he did. Of course the Sandaime was called and the head mother there was ranting her head off, but for some reason the other kids seemed to like what he did and kept asking how was it he was able to do move the tree. Truth be told he had no freaking idea, no idea at all. The Sandaime didn't believe her when she claimed Naruto moved the tree, bending it backwards with his bare hands given her history of hating and disliking the boy, so the old man took him away from the orphanage and gave him his own apartment. It wasn't perfect but it was something. The blonde hadn't noticed any change in the people's behavior towards him because he was too busy talking to spirits and having fun, dead or not they had some really good stories.

With a sigh he stood up and continued walking like normal before he came to a stop looking up a run down place. Was this the interesting thing the old man was talking about? It didn't look very interesting. Shrugging his shoulders he walked inside the run down looking place and started looking around, but stopped when he spotted some cool looking masks.

"Wow…" he approached the masks but was too small to grab and reach for them much to his dismay, why did he have to be so short?

"My, my, are you trying to get those masks little sage?"

Naruto spun around so fast he fell on his bottom, "Ow!" opening his eyes he saw a man with long red hair that was in a low ponytail, green eyes that reminded Naruto of a pretty green jewel. The man was sporting a long black robed shirt and black pants with black boots. Another thing Naruto noticed was the man genuine kind smile and his eyes didn't look at him with hate either. Scampering to his feet quickly he eyed the man warily, "Who are you?"

"Very good question," the man smiled, "But first you must tell me what your name is."

Naruto still looked skeptical of the man but he seemed to be a nice person and hasn't tried to do anything to him so he guessed it was okay to tell the man his name, "Naruto Uzumaki…"

The man beamed, "I see! Such a strong and unique name! Do you know the meaning of your first name?

Naruto shook his head.

"It means 'whirlpool.' You're truly a blessed a child." The man said.

Naruto didn't know what that word mean but there was something else he wanted to know, "Hey, you didn't tell me your name yet!"

"How true I haven't told you my name yet now have I? My name is…a secret!" the man grinned.

Naruto pouted, "No fair!"

"In this world you will learn very quickly that life is unfair. Now then, where did you hear about the location of these masks?" the man asked nicely.

"Oh, Hiroki-jiji told me!"

"Hiroki-jiji?"

The blonde was going to tell him about the old man but decided against it because the man in front of him wouldn't believe him anyway, so he lied.

"He's an old man I met at the park." Naruto lied.

The mysterious man stared into the blonde's blue eyes making the boy uncomfortable, _'D-Does he know I lied?'_

A smile graced the man's lips, "I see, what a nice old man."

Naruto sighed with relief, "Yeah, he really is a nice old man."

The man walked over by the boy passing him as he approached the masks reaching out and grabbing one off the wall, "Its ironic. An unknown old man told you to come here of all places, I wonder if he knew?"

Naruto blinked, "What are you talking about?"

"Your last name is Uzumaki, right?"

"Mm."

"Then that's why you were able to enter here," the man said cryptically, "You see only an Uzumaki can enter this temple because there's a seal on the outside of these walls. This place may run down but the seals still work, do you understand what I'm saying?"

Naruto had absolutely no clue what the man was talking about at all and it showed on his face making the man chuckle, "In other words…you my boy are part of the Uzumaki clan."

"Uzumaki clan? I…have a family?" Naruto didn't know what to feel right now. He's part of a clan? Why didn't the old man tell him?

"I see you haven't been told, quite an awful thing to do in my opinion but don't worry because I'm going to tell you everything." The man said bringing his arm up and touching his wrist. Seals appeared on his wrist before a bright blue light began to shine brightly blinding Naruto who was forced to close his eyes, opening them again he noticed all the masks were gone.

"Their gone?" Naruto said.

"Don't worry, I have them stored in the seal that's on my wrist so its okay. Now then let us go." The man began walking away, "Oh, and from now on you may call me…Sage."

"Sage…" Naruto said following behind the man sensing no danger from him.

Sage and Naruto walked out of the temple and out into the forest, once they were back outside the blonde noticed something odd. The trees looked like they were swirling around making feel unnerved a little bit as he moved closer to Sage, "What's going on?"

Sage rubbed his head with a smile, "Its okay, we're just going to go over to the other side for a little while so we can talk in private."

"The other side?"

"Mm, to their world." He picked up the startled little boy moving towards the distortion with a curious yet scare Naruto in his arms. The blonde closed his eyes as soon as they went through the distortion, "You can open your eyes now."

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and saw something amazing! He wasn't in Konoha anymore he was instead in a new world where everything was so colorful. The trees here looked greener, the sky bluer and there weren't any people around but strange looking creatures, some were tall, some were short, and some looked human but either had horns, horse legs and other features. What an amazing place!

Sage smiled seeing the smile plastered on the boy's face, "I take it you like what you see?"

"Awesome! Where are we?" Naruto exclaimed looking around with a childlike wonder and innocence.

Sage chuckled, "This place has been given many names over the years from those who were able to come here and see it for themselves, but you may call it "Makai (World of Spirits)."

"Makai…" Naruto stared out into the new world.

"There are many mysteries in this world little sage, nothing is as it seems on the surface. You need to look beyond the surface to actually see what is there otherwise you will remain blind to everything else." Sēji explained.

Naruto didn't understand what he was saying but nodded his head anyway, "Okay."

"Oh my, what cute little boy you've brought with you this time." A feminine voice spoke up.

Naruto tore his gaze away from Sage to see a woman with long black hair, purple eyes, wearing a long white dress, sporting two black horns on her head.

"Pretty…" the blonde said.

The woman giggled, "Such a sweetheart you are, little one."

Sage snorted, "Naruto, this is an old friend of mine, Ariel."

"Nice to meet you, Naruto-kun." Ariel smiled.

"Nice to meet you." Naruto mumbled shyly. He turned his attention elsewhere when he spotted a white deer walking right towards them with the tallest white antlers he'd ever seen.

Ariel smiled seeing the deer approach, "Oh my, did you come to meet the little one too, Eden?"

Eden kept his eyes on the boy, **"Indeed, I must admit that my reasons for revealing myself is based on my own curiosity. This is the first time a child has entered our world."**

"Now that you mention it that is true isn't it?" Ariel had a sudden realization. While true humans have accidently come here before but they were older, this was the first time a child was able to enter.

Eden approached the boy that was still being held by Sage looking right into the child eyes, as for Naruto he couldn't bring himself to look away from the deer like creature and instead kept his gaze on it. With a hum as though it was satisfied with something he looked over at Sage, **"Sage-dono, I wish to speak with the child alone if you don't mind?"**

Sage didn't look surprised and instead smiled, "Very well, but don't take too long because me and Naruto have many things to discuss." He placed the boy on the deer's back.

 **"** **I understand, let us go then, Naruto-dono."** Eden took a curious Naruto away to speak privately leaving the other two behind.

Ariel gave the man a knowing smile, "Aren't you sneaky."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Sage feigned ignorance.

"You can't fool me my friend," Ariel stated, "That boy's aura screams of the newborn sage, not to mention he's able to see and communicate with those that are no longer living within this world, not to mention he was able to see the gate to our world and enter. Even if you were here with him he could have still been rejected by our world's purity."

He chuckled, "You're right, I really can't fool you can I?"

She didn't share in his laughter instead her face expressed seriousness; "I felt it as soon as the two of you came here. Would you kindly explain to me how its possible this boy has awakened to Senjutsu?"

"I can't say, though there is a clan that can absorb the natural energy around them though Naruto's case is completely different. I suspect he may have always been able to use Senjutsu, probably since birth." The man theorized.

"Since birth…as usual humans can be very fascinating in many ways." She said., "Do you plan on teaching him how to control his now awakened abilities?"

"That's the plan and the main reason why I brought him here among other things…" he trailed off.

"Is that boy n Uzumaki by any chance?" Ariel wondered.

"He is."

"Ah, so you're just looking out for him then."

"I am. I do not trust Konoha."

"What a coincidence, neither do I."

* * *

Curious eyes wandered just about everywhere as he rode on the back of Eden. Since coming here he felt at ease with his surroundings that he had the urge to stay here but knew he couldn't because the old man would worry about him.

 **"** **You appear to like it here in our world."** Eden spoke.

"Yeah! Everything's soo amazing!" Naruto told the deer.

 **"** **I'm sure they will be happy to hear that, especially coming from a child like you."** The white deer expressed honestly.

"What does that mean?"

 **"** **Many people have come here in the past simply by accident, never purposefully. You are also the first human child to have ever come here before."** He revealed.

"Really?"

 **"** **Yes."**

"Oh…hey, you said 'human' just now didn't you?" Naruto said carefully.

 **"** **Indeed I did, do you believe yourself not to be human?"**

Naruto rested his whole body down on the deer remembering the mean name people kept calling him, 'demon brat.' The first time he was called that he cried silently in his room, hearing someone call you such a mean word really hurts.

 **"** **Do not despair child for I assure you that you are very much human,"** Eden assured the boy, **"Humans are known to be cruel creatures but they also have love in them as well. You have someone who loves you correct?"**

Naruto rubbed his cheek against the soft fur, "Mm…Hokage-jiji."

 **"** **Ah, I see. Such a happy memory you have stored within you."**

"You can see my memories?"

 **"** **Our kind has the ability to see into the memories of others, I feel both painful and happy memories stores within you. You are a strong child, never forget that."**

 _'_ _I'm…strong?'_

 **"** **Hey, hey, grandpa can we play with the human?"**

 **"** **Can we?! Can we?!"**

Looking down the blonde saw three little deer's looking right at him with eager looks on their faces, in Naruto's opinion anyway.

Naruto got down from the deer and smiled, "I'll play!"

 **"** **Yay!"** the three little deer's chorused as they led Naruto somewhere to go play with them leaving Eden to watch them like a grandfather would when watching his grandchildren.

"Did you say what you had to say to him?" Sēji questioned having appeared next to the white deer.

 **"** **Yes, you are fortunate to have found the child when you did."** Eden told him.

"I know."

"Soo cute~!" Ariel gushed.

 **"** **Please refrain from looking as though you wish to eat them, it look unpleasant."** Eden deadpanned.

"Mou, I'm giving them any sort of look." Ariel protested.

 **"** **So you say, honestly you young people these days…"**

"Jealous because I'm younger than you, old man?" Ariel teased.

 **"** **Hardly."**

Sage chuckled, "As amusing as this is I'm afraid I must cut this short as I really need to speak with Naruto about the reason I brought him here in the first place."

"Go ahead." Ariel encouraged.

"Naruto!" Sage called out to the boy who stopped playing with the little deer's and went over to him with a questioning look.

"What is it?"

"Its time for that talk I promised you, have a seat."

The blonde sat down on the grass looking up at the man with an expected look wanting to know what this talk will entail. The man sat before the little boy with a serious expression, "Naruto, do you want to know why people say such mean things about you and give you mean looks?"

Naruto nodded his head slowly.

"The reason they say such mean things to you is because you have the Kyūbi sealed inside you."

Time seemed to stop once the words left the man's mouth. Naruto sat completely still muttering only one word, "What…?"

The red head continued, "The Sandaime revealed you to be the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi to the general public right after so many had been killed. Ironically the person who sealed the Kyūbi within you was the Yondaime Minato Namikaze."

The boy's eyes grew wide with that reveal, so the Yondaime was the reason people kept giving him mean looks and saying things behind his back or to his face. It was his fault!

"That is not all I'm afraid," Sage continued, "You see the man was actually your father and your mother's names was Kushina Uzumaki who was the previous host of the Kyūbi. Not only that but she was from the Uzumaki clan that had their very own village called Uzushiogakure no Sato. They along with Konoha were allies, the symbol for that is the red swirls on the back of those green jackets the Jounin and Chunin wear. Its ironic when you think about it, they wear it so proudly not even realizing you are a member of the Uzumaki clan."

Naruto's heart was beating faster than normal when more revelations just kept on coming. This was too much all too much.

"When the Sandaime revealed your Jinchūriki status he did so because the Yondaime asked him to wanting you to be seen as a hero, but that plan had many flaws as you can plainly see. Those who have a Bijū sealed within them are loathed and hated because of it, but that's not all. The villages seal the Bijū inside of people to use them as weapons." Sage kept revealing more information.

"Wait…hero…weapon…Jiji…he knew…?" Naruto forced the words out of his mouth.

"Yes…"

"He knew…but, h-he said he didn't know who they were…I asked him…and he said he didn't have anything about them…he knew why everyone…he knew…he knew…he lied…lied…lied…lied…lied…lied…" the blonde mumbled feeling some strange power begin to stir within him.

"Naruto-" Sage tried to calm the boy down but it was too late.

 **"** **HE LIED!"** Naruto roared as a foreign power covered his entire form as he screamed his heart out to anyone that would be able to hear it. The force of the power was so great it sent Eden, Ariel, and the three little deer's away from him but not Sage.

The red head approached the heartbroken blonde and slowly wrapped his arms around the child, "Its okay to let out all of those emotions Naruto, let it all out, cry, wail, let out what you're feeling. I'm right here." He gripped the boy closer to him.

Naruto kept wailing but the foreign power he was emitting was slowly dissipating leaving just the crying blonde child in the red heads comforting embrace. The blonde held the man close to him not wanting to escape the hug just yet, he was too busy wailing out his very soul to notice Ariel, Eden and the little deer's approach the two giving their own forms of comfort. Hearing the blonde let out such a wail was just too heartbreaking not to give comfort to.

* * *

Ariel weaved her fingers through the blonde's hair as his head was in her lap, his eyes were open but if you look closer you could see something in his eyes had changed. Having found out the reason for your suffering was your own father and being lied to about your origins would make anyone feel betrayed and lose their trust and faith people. There's no telling what his future may hold now.

"Naruto."

Said blonde moved his eyes upward seeing the red head appear before him with a worried look, "How are you feeling?"

Naruto slowly sat up looking completely drained which was to be expected since the poor boy had practically screamed out his very soul that was felt all round their world, "I'm fine…" he mumbled.

Sage brought the boy in for another hug making the boy give out a content sigh at the warm feeling. Snuggling into the man's chest he spoke again, "Why did he lie to me?"

"While I'm sure he had his reasons that doesn't make it all right to lie to a child, especially if they want to know about their parents having become orphaned." Sage expressed.

"I would have kept it a secret! I wouldn't have told anyone! And why didn't he tell me I had a clan?!" Naruto demanded.

"I'm not sure why Naruto, but in my opinion I believe he did it to keep you safe from Iwagakure no Sato." He said.

"Hiroki-jiji told me about how he sacrificed them during the war." Naruto recalled conversation the conversation he had with the old man.

"Minato Namikaze took the lives of many Iwa ninja in order to stop the war from continuing so it wouldn't surprise me in the least if they tried sneaking into the village to try and kill you as some sort of revenge against him." Sage explained.

Naruto gripped the man's robes, "But still…"

"I know, but the real question is what will you do right now?" the man wondered.

Reluctantly Naruto removed himself from the man's comforting embrace to give him an answer, "Sage-oji-san?"

Ariel hid her snicker from behind her hand and Eden huffed in amusement as the man was called "uncle."

"Yes?" he responded not at all bothered.

"Will you…will you train me?" Naruto asked.

"Of course! I was originally going to ask you anyway." Sage grinned as the blonde shot towards him embracing him in another hug, "We'll start first thing tomorrow morning."

Naruto nodded having no complaints.

* * *

Naruto walked out of the distortion along with Sage, the blonde noticed no time had passed since he went over to the other side because the sun was still out.

"Time here and in their world flows much differently than it does here, remember we left in the early morning and now it's the afternoon." The man said.

"Oh…I want to move somewhere else." Naruto said suddenly.

"Move somewhere else?"

"The old man got me my own place but I don't want to live there anymore, it's too small." Naruto explained.

"Hmmm…I think we can set you somewhere tomorrow, do you want to keep living inside the village?" Sage asked.

"No, I want to live out in the forest so I can be closer to my friends." The blonde said.

"Understood. I'll see if I can get Ariel, Eden, and some others to help create you a place that suits your tastes." He smiled.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, now then let's get you something to eat." He grabbed the boy's hand as they walked hand to hand back towards the village.

"Hey, I can walk the rest of the way back on my own. I don't want anyone to take you away from me." Naruto expressed.

The older man chuckled, "Why of course."

* * *

 _A mysterious man with a boy who sees what other's cannot._

 _It has begun._

* * *

 **Next Time** **:** **Yōkai**


	2. Yōkai

**_"_** ** _The world doesn't change in front of your eyes, it changes behind your back."_**

 ** _-Terry Hayes_**

* * *

Naruto did his usual routine when he woke up; washed his face, brushed his teeth, and get dressed. The first thing he wanted to do when he saw Sage was ask how to make his own clothes since the stores here won't sell him any, he also needed to make meals for himself too. With a sigh he walked out of his apartment complex heading out to the village not caring what the civilians or shinobi had to say to him right now or in the future. After he learned about everything there was no reason for him to try and be civil towards the people here because it was a waste of time and right now he didn't have time to waste. He forgot to mention to his new mentor yesterday about his super strength but he'll talk about it today when they meet up again today.

 ** _"_** ** _Good morning…"_**

He stopped in his tracks having heard something inhuman greet him as he walked down the street, peeking his head down an alley way he saw what appeared to be a woman with long black hair that looked wavy, wearing a white kimono. Her eyes were covered by her hair so he couldn't see them but he did see her give him a creepy smile as she waved at him. Smiling back he greeted her in the same way, "Good morning."

She smiled even wider as he walked away after greeting the Yōkai. He noticed it yesterday too, when he came back from the 'other side' he started seeing yokai now too. He met one on his way home, it was a very friendly yokai that warned him of some suspicious people heading his way so the yokai gave him a different way to get home safely. As soon as he opened the door he was met with another Yōkai with a child-like appearance. He had long pale yellow hair, blue eyes, wearing an orange kimono. The little guy was really too cute, the little yokai made tea as they talked about random things like friends are supposed to. It was fun.

He let a smile show on his face at the memory, he really did enjoy talking with another yokai even if he had to leave. Another reason he was so happy was because he was going to be moving into a new home that was out of the village and into the forest, he couldn't be happier. The added bonus to this was the fact he could now spend more time with his friends away from unwanted eyes. He could get used to this.

* * *

It didn't take long for him to arrive at the Uzumaki temple, which has now become his new favorite place to hang out. This temple rightfully belongs to him seeing as how he's an Uzumaki, even those red swirls on the jackets of those shinobi belong to his clan. He should steal those jackets and rip his clan symbol off of them.

"You have a scary look on your face."

Naruto turned to his mentor, "Sage-oji-san!"

"I'm here, are you ready to begin your training?"

"Yeah!"

"Good, now we won't be training on this side but the other side instead."

"I get to see Ariel-nee-san and Eden-jiji again?!" Naruto smiled.

"Of course, besides they love you anyway." Sage commented taking the boy's hand as they walked through the seam that goes to the other side. It didn't take long for Naruto to leave the man's side as he ran over to the elder deer.

"Eden-jiji!" he hugged the deer's head rubbing his face against it.

Eden gave an elder chuckle as closed his eyes, **"Welcome back Naruto, you appear to be feeling much better today."**

Naruto looked into the deer's eyes and smiled, "I feel much better. I'm sorry for worrying you."

 **"** **It is quite alright little sage. Letting out your emotions is good for the soul."** He told the boy.

"Okay."

"Hey old man, we came here to start the boy's training so I'm afraid we can't waste time right now." Sage told the deer.

 **"** **I understand. I will leave you to it then."** He said getting up off the ground before walking away to check on the little ones.

"So what are we doing?" the blonde asked.

"Before we do anything we need to figure out what your chakra affinity is." The man said.

"Chakra affinity?"

"There's a theory that every person's chakra has an affinity towards one of the five basic nature transformations, which are Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water. Affinities can sometimes be genetic or at least common to a clan, take the Uchiha clan for example, they have an affinity towards Fire nature," he took out a piece of paper, "This paper is known as Chakra Induction Paper, one's affinity can be determined using this piece of paper. Once chakra is fed to this piece of paper it will react according to the chakra's latent element. If your affinity is Fire it will ignite and turn to ash, if its Wind the paper will split in two, if its Lightning it will wrinkle, if its Earth it will turn to dirt and crumble away, and if its Water it will become damp." He explained.

"Wow, sounds pretty cool."

"It's very cool, here try adding your chakra to this paper so we can see what your element is." He said.

Naruto took the paper and focused some of his chakra into the piece of paper, he saw blue energy surround the paper before it split in two.

"I have a wind affinity…"

"That you do, now that we know what your affinity is we can begin working on it in the near future for now we need to work on something a little more serious." He said.

"Uh, before that I need to tell you something."

"Hm? What is it?"

"Well," the blonde shuffled his feet a little, "Can I show you…?"

"If you want."

Looking around the area Naruto found a pretty big rock from where they were standing. Approaching the inanimate object he lifted it up with both hands, turning to his mentor he saw the man smile.

"Naruto I already know about your super strength abilities."

"You do? But how?" the blonde exclaimed putting the giant rock down.

"Technically that super strength of yours is credit due to the fact that you have Senjutsu chakra so early on in your life. It's impressive really."

"Thanks I guess. When I first used it at the orphanage the other kids seemed to really like it. Hey, what's Senjutsu?"

"Senjutsu allows the user to sense and gather natural energy. Practitioners of Senjutsu learn to draw the energy of nature to them, blending it with their own chakra. This adds a new dimension of power to their chakra resulting in the creation of Senjutsu chakra. Also, those who are able to absorb and use Senjutsu chakra are known as Sages. Senjutsu chakra can't be used by those who are untrained in Senjutsu, but those who are enter a form known as Sennin Mōdo (Sage Mode)."

"Sage mode…"

"Entering Sage mode increases one's physical strength, speed, stamina, reflexes, perception, and durability for as long as the mode is active. Learning Sage Mode does come with risks, but since you've been able to use it early on in your life whether it by accident or not you can use about half of your Senjutsu chakra which is still impressive for someone your age with no training experience." He complimented.

Naruto blushed after being complimented.

"Its also a good thing you haven't been absorbing a lot of energy otherwise you would have turned to stone." He added.

The blonde flinched before going pale, "S-S-Stone-!"

"Now, now, calm down. From what I can tell you haven't been absorbing that much energy, just enough to keep yourself protected." He assured.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now," Sage sat down on the ground lotus style, "Let's talk about Yōkai and other supernatural entities."

Naruto sat down lotus style the same way as Sage, "I want to know."

"Very well, Yōkai are supernatural creatures as you've clearly seen for yourself. The word combination, (Yō) means attractive, bewitching, calamity, and (Kai) means, mystery and wonder.

"Oh…"

"Yōkai can also include ghosts, transformed humans and animals, spirit possession, urban legends, and other strange phenomena." He lectured.

"Then, where do Yōkai come from?" Naruto asked.

"No one really knows for sure, but in my opinion I believe they have always been here watching us for a very long time." He said.

"Watching us for a very long time…" Naruto said.

Sage nodded.

"In the past there have been those who were able to see them, communicate with them, and connect with them, but as you know the were met with scorn and prejudice." He said seriously.

Naruto looked down, _'Just like me.'_ He thought, "What happened to them?"

Sage looked out afar, "Some of them ended up having happy endings, while those that didn't…died of loneliness and sorrow."

Naruto clenched his fists, "Why did they have to suffer so much? They didn't do anything wrong!"

"I know that, Naruto. However, people fear what they cannot understand and react violently towards it out of fear. Its unpleasant I know, but that's just how humans are. They cannot accept what they don't understand, while those that do understand are rejected harshly. Its like a double-edged sword."

"Double-edged sword?"

"Its used as a metaphor, if two sides of the same blade are sharp, it cuts both ways. Meaning that something can have both favorable and unfavorable consequences." He explained.

"And that's what happened to the people that could see Yōkai?" Naruto asked.

"Yes that's exactly right, while being able to see Yōkai and communicate with them can be favorable it can also lead to rejection by others which is unfavorable." He stated.

Naruto looked down seemingly thinking about something, "Sage-oji-san, what else are you going to teach me?"

"The first would be to teach you about all different forms of Yōkai that are out there as well as some Kami, ghosts, spirits, and other things. But more importantly I'm going to teach you how to use your Yin chakra as well as Yang." He explained.

"Yin and Yang chakra?"

"Yin is based on spiritual energy that governs imagination and is created by altering the ratio of spiritual and physical energy in favor of spiritual energy a lot more, while Yang is based on physical energy that governs vitality and is created by altering the ratio of spiritual and physical energy in favor of physical energy a lot more." He explained as best he could.

"That sounds really cool!" Naruto said.

"I know it does, now then let's begin training." He smiled.

"Yeah!" the blonde grinned.

* * *

Hiruzen was in his office looking over reports concerning Naruto Uzumaki who according to these reports has been acting very strange as of late. The first thing that came to him was when the boy was throwing his ball at some invisible force in the park where multiple people there saw it happen. He passed the ball to some invisible force that passed it right back to him and this went on until it stopped, another report was him going back to the park the next day talking to someone on the bench that wasn't really there. After that he left the park then disappeared into the forest probably heading towards the outskirts of the village for whatever reason where he just suddenly disappeared. That worried him until Naruto reappeared but something changed, he could see it in the boy's eyes that something had changed, at one time when he was grinning like a maniac it was now a blank expression. He would occasionally turn his attention elsewhere seemingly speaking with someone that wasn't even there before casually walking along to wherever he needed to go.

This was troubling.

Its obvious the boy had created some sort of imaginary friend to escape the loneness he felt around the village due to the cold indifference of the villagers, this was not good. The boy needed to interact with people but that was hard when no one would acknowledge your presence or even go near you because of human ignorance. At this rate Naruto would lose his touch with reality drawing himself further away from people without making any sort of bond within the village. He needed to talk to the boy about this.

* * *

Meanwhile Naruto felt like he was on cloud nine copying his mentor's fighting style. Before they do any kind of sparring his mentor wanted to show him his Taijutsu style. Naruto was starting to get the hang of it little by little, his mentor told him that one must always be patient in everything they do, so that's what he was doing.

"You've almost got it down, here move your arm like this." He instructed moving Naruto's leg up a little higher keeping a firm grip on the boy making sure he didn't fall backwards.

"L-Like this?"

"Yep, just like that. Now let's do it again."

"Yeah!"

For the past two hours Naruto practiced his kata by following his mentor, throwing air punches, and kicks were the only thing he was allowed to practice for today. After that was done it was time to read up on some Yōkai. There were many different Yōkai species out there just like his mentor said, not only that but different gods and sprites and other supernatural creatures too! He was so interested in what he was reading that Sage had to literally take the book away form him so they could eat something. Ariel came out of nowhere with some food for them to eat, and since Naruto hadn't had breakfast yet he ate a lot making sure his stomach was nice and full. Ariel said his eating habit was really cute making him pout a little bit but that only made her squeal like a school girl and almost suffocating him with her hugs.

Wiggling out of the hug he decided to ask his mentor something important, "Hey, Sage-oji-san?"

"What is it?"

"Can everyone use Senjutsu if they train hard enough?" the blonde asked.

"No, not everyone. Civilians have low chakra reserves to even attempt using Senjutsu, and only a few shinobi can try to achieve it. I'll give you an example, there are two shinobi who have tried to master Senjutsu but only one of them managed to get the hang of it." He said.

"Who are they?"

"The first would be Jiraiya one of the Legendary Sannin that was trained by Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage."

Naruto frowned when the old man's name was mentioned but otherwise said nothing.

"Until now Senjutsu was only known to be taught in two places, Mount Myōboku (Mysterious/Exquisite Tree Mountain), and at Ryūchi Cave (Dragon Ground Cave)."

"Cool names."

"I agree, anyway the first place I told you about belongs to the toads while the second place is used by the snakes. The toads use a similar method to what I just taught you in order to teach their summoners Sage Mode."

"Summoners?"

"The toads at Mount Myōboku are summoning animals and are said to be the strongest but that's still debatable. The toads use several tools to make learning Senjutsu easier, by applying special oil the user's body will passively taking in natural energy. They also have a special staff that knocks out all of the natural energy the user gathers into their body to reverse any transformations or preventing the user from turning to stone. As for the snakes, one must be bitten by the White Snake Sage who injects them with natural energy. It is said that if one's body is strong enough to withstand this snake transformation it will accept the power, thus granting the user of using Sage Mode. The two shinobi who have went to these places are Jiraiya as I've already told you and Orochimaru another pupil of the Sandaime Hokage." He revealed.

"Jiraiya and Orochimaru…"

"Known fact about Jiraiya, he's actually unable to use Sage Mode on his own because he cannot do it himself while on the move, and as for Orochimaru while he was able to mold Senjutsu chakra he wasn't able to use Sage Transformation allowing him to enter Sage Mode." He revealed.

Naruto blinked, "How do you know all of this?"

"I have a lot of free-time on my hands, that's how." He stated.

"Right…but what about me? I didn't do the Sage transformation thingy." Naruto said.

"As I've said before it's because you were born with Senjutsu chakra and the only noticeable transformation it did to you was enhance your strength and possibly endurance. You just need one final push to enter Sage Mode and you have thanks to this world."

"Wait, so this world can also teach someone to go into Sage Mode?"

"Yep, and since not all humans can see Yōkai only those who have the ability to see them can come over to this side and learn how to enter Sage Mode, but out of those who have been able to see Yōkai there have only been two humans known to have come here though." He said.

"Really, who?"

He pointed to himself, "Me," then pointed at Naruto, "And you."

"Really? No one else but us?"

"That's right, aren't we special?" he smiled.

Naruto grinned then dropped it just as quickly, "Was there another one?"

"Hm?" Sage said.

"The Legendary Sannin, was there another one?"

"As a matter of fact there is, her name is Tsunade Senju."

"Tsunade Senju…um, her last name sounds familiar."

"It should since she's the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju the Shodaime Hokage." He said.

"Eh? She's his granddaughter?"

"That she is little sage, but she hasn't been seen in this village for a very long time. For you see she left the village after having lost her brother and lover during the Second World War so you weren't even born yet when she left." He explained.

"So she doesn't want to come back to Konoha?"

"No, I'm afraid not. But I can assure you that the Sandaime would try to get her back here either by force or through manipulation of her emotions which works on some people." He shrugged.

Naruto frowned at this. Was the old man manipulating him too? Putting on that smile of his telling him that 'things will get better' or 'they will eventually come around.' He was probably being manipulated the whole time without even realizing it, well not this time. No one will manipulate his emotions ever again.

"By the way, we have a surprise for you."

"What is it?"

"If I tell you then it wouldn't be much of a surprise now would it?"

The blonde pouted but otherwise said nothing and continued eating his food. He wondered what the surprise was, hopefully something really good.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Naruto asked.

"Almost, just be patient."

The two of them were currently walking through the forest away from the village, but Naruto couldn't tell seeing as how he had a blindfold wrapped around his eyes as his mentor guided him to wherever it was they were going.

"Stop. We're here, take your blindfold off." He told the blonde.

Naruto took the blindfold off opening his eyes slowly to adjust to the sunlight, what he saw made his eyes widen and causing a grin to spread across his face. Right before his very eyes was a giant mansion like house where pretty flowers were growing everywhere, there were even hedges and a mini lake.

"Wow! Its soo big!" Naruto exclaimed instantly running around to get a better feel of the house.

Sage chuckled, "He appears to like it."

 **"** **I should say so yes."** Eden agreed having appeared out of nowhere.

"When did you get here?"

 **"** **Just now, I was curious to see how he would like what we have provided for him."** Eden explained.

"Well given his reaction I'd say he absolutely loves it."

 **"** **Ariel has a hand to play in this herself. She wouldn't let anyone rest until the house was finished. Quite the slave driver that woman is."** Eden sighed.

"My condolences." The red head chuckled.

"Hey, hey! Can we see the inside, too?!" Naruto came running back bouncing on his feet with excitement.

"Why of course we can." Sage said.

"Awesome! Come on, Eden-jiji!" Naruto ushered the deer to follow him.

 **"** **Very well, I shall accompany you."** Eden said following after the boy then stopped suddenly, **"How will you handle the Hokage? We didn't get everything."**

"Like this," the red head began to shrink to the size of a child, his hair becoming a spiky blonde color and his eyes became blue, "Remember I can change my appearance to look like others or of my own creation."

 **"** **So you will confront him using Naruto's form then? A wise decision."** Eden complimented.

"I guess, take care of him while I'm out getting the last thing."

 **"** **Understood."**

Sage/Naruto left through the barrier that was not created by chakra but spiritual power, he would be teaching Naruto about that too. Leaving the forest area he went into the village instantly noticing the yokai that gathered here already wanting to see Naruto.

 _'_ _He's already become this popular? The spirits must be talking about him.'_ he thought as he already reached the blonde's apartment. He also felt the Hokage coming in on him fast making him smirk, "Time to have some fun with this." Leaving the door open he walked inside and noticed the bed was gone so that couldn't have been it, so what…ah, over there. Walking over to the counter he picked up a stuffed animal that one of the employees gave him for his 4th birthday. It was in the shape of a fox ironically but she didn't give it to him out of spite, in fact she told him that he looked cute with it and also told him to hide it so no one would try to take it away from him. Such a sweet one she is.

Picking up the stuffed animal he hid it quickly as he sensed the Sandaime quickly appeared in the doorway, he could tell what kind of emotions were going through the man right now, confusion and desperation. So he's desperate to keep the boy in the village is he? Well too bad, things don't always go the way you want them to and he needs to know that, like right now.

"Naruto." The old man called out.

"Sandaime." He replied back neutrally.

Hiruzen's blood ran cold. Sandaime? When did Naruto start calling him that? No, that wasn't important right now, "What are you doing?"

"I'm moving out. I'll be living out into the forest from now on, there's less noise out there." Sage/Naruto stated still not looking at him.

"But…why?"

"I just told you," Sage/Naruto turned around finally walking towards the old man, "I like it better when its quiet plus I don't have to put up with all the stares, it's annoying." He walked past the old man not even giving him a second glance, _'This is fun. Its been soo long since I've impersonated someone. What will you do now I wonder, Hiruzen Sarutobi?'_

"Wait! What brought this on all of a sudden?!" Hiruzen wondered as he followed behind the blonde.

"Nothing really, I just wanna be left alone." Sage/Naruto said eyeing a yokai that was hiding in the alley waving at him, he winked at it and continued walking.

"Naruto, I promise you things will get better in the village and-" the elder Hokage was cut off.

"That's what you said last time and nothing's changed," Sage/Naruto interrupted, "The people here ignore me anyway, so I don't care anymore."

"Naruto-" Hiruzen protested.

"Sandaime, you can't force people to change. I don't know if they'll ever change and I'm not getting my hopes up anymore." Sage/Naruto stated walking into the forest part of Konoha leaving Hiruzen just standing there wondering where he went wrong? What if Naruto tries to leave the village because of the people here? What should he do?

* * *

Sage reverted back to his original self as he arrived at Naruto's new home with a small sadistic smile on his face, "I think I've been living with the yokai on the other side for too long, I think I've come to enjoy seeing someone look so desperate." Walking to the back of the house he spotted Naruto resting on Eden who didn't look all that bothered by it.

Eden turned in his direction, **"Judging by your expression am I to understand that it went well?"**

"He was soo desperate to keep Naruto inside the village that he didn't even notice I wasn't him. He was also spouting nonsense about how things will get better. Obviously he said those words to Naruto before, but from what I've observed nothing has changed. The boy made the right choice when he decided to live out here instead of inside the village, he's much safer out here anyway." Sage said.

 **"** **I agree with your assessment."** Eden said.

Naruto groaned before opening his eyes rubbing them softly then smiled seeing Sage was here, "Sage-oji-san, where did you go?"

"I went to tell the Hokage that you no longer live in the village and instead out here in the forest now." The told him.

Naruto frowned, "What did he say?"

"He tried to explain that things will get better-" the red head was cut off.

"Why does he keep saying that?!" Naruto yelled.

"Calm down, little sage. You may have to walk around the village from time to time, but always remember that the yokai are always watching over you. Like that lady in the alley that always waves at you." He said.

"Alley lady? I like her, she said, 'good morning' to me today." Naruto smiled.

Sage chuckled, "Since you've relaxed enough its time to start up training again with your new Taijutsu, do you want to know the name of it?"

"Yeah."

"I call it…Jūnishi no Ken (Fist of the Twelve Zodiacs)."

"Jūnishi no Ken?"

"Have you ever heard of the Twelve Zodiacs? There's Nezumi (Rat), Ushi (Ox), Tora (Tiger), Usagi (Rabbit), Tatsu (Dragon), Hebi (Snake), Uma (Horse), Hitsuji (Goat), Saru (Monkey), Niwatori (Rooster), Inu (Dog), and Inoshishi (Boar). Out of all of these the only known fighting styles are, Monkey, Tiger, Dragon, and Snake, but I've added fighting styles to the ones that don't have any and now I'm going to teach it to you. Are you prepared? I'm going to let you know now I will not show you mercy when it comes to training, the same could be said for when we start sparring. Well? Do you think you can handle it?" His eyes narrowed.

Naruto felt pure intensity in the man's stare enough to know he wasn't joking around. His heart was beating fast in his chest, his palms felt sweaty, a feeling of excitement burned within his very soul. He already made his decision.

"I…want to get stronger!" Naruto said.

Sage smirked, "By the time I'm done with you…you'll be begging for mercy."

"Bring it!"

Eden was interested to see how the child would do under Sage's tutelage; the man had never taken up a student before so this should interesting to see.

"Go to the front of the house and wait for me there while I talk to Eden for a little bit." Sage said.

"Okay." He walked off leaving the two of them alone to talk things out.

 **"** **What is it that you wanted to discuss with me?"** Eden wondered.

"Naruto's chakra, what have you noticed about it?"

 **"** **Aside from the Kyūbi's chakra mixing with his own, his Yin and Yang chakra are perfectly balanced out, but I sense another source of chakra within him as well. Could it be…"** he trailed off.

"Then my theory of him being born with Senjutsu chakra wasn't as observed as I originally thought." He explained.

 **"** **Looks that way."** Eden said.

"The two components of chakra are "physical" and "spiritual" energy. The Physical energy is one's stamina that is collected from each and every one of the body's cells and can be increased through training, stimulants, and exercise. Spiritual energy is derived from the mind's consciousness and can be increased through studying, meditation, and experience. Senjutsu chakra falls into the category of natural energy allowing the user to sense and gather natural energy, so now you three components of chakra. Physical, spiritual, and natural energy." He explained.

 **"** **I see, in other words Naruto has three types of chakra. Physical, spiritual, and natural energy. It's a wonder no one in the village has noticed."** Eden commented.

"That's because they didn't care to notice, but that works out for me because I will train him in using his Senjutsu chakra, as well as his Yin and Yang chakra. When he become 10 years of age, I will help him achieve Sage Mode." Sage said seriously.

 **"** **If that is what you so desire then I will give you my full support. You should go to your student now, keep him waiting any longer and he'll get bored."** Eden told him.

"Yeah, yeah, feel free to stay and watch, old man." Sage teased.

Eden huffed in amusement.

 **10 Hours Later**

Naruto panted his body feeling heavy and completely sore from the warm ups, to the sparring and the repeat of it all. Before the blonde could ever learn the Taijutsu, Sage wanted to teach him he explained Naruto needed to work out his body first so he could know what the feel of training feels like. The blonde didn't complain and did what he was told, to start off he was told to run 10 laps around the house to strengthen the muscles in his legs, once that was done it was time to do 10 sit-ups. He didn't give Naruto anytime to rest so he had to do the sit-ups right after he was done running his 10 laps. After that was sparring for 20 minutes, he didn't understand why he had to spar 20 minutes instead of 10 but once again he didn't complain. Needless to say the spar between the two clearly showed the blonde needed more work with his reflexes as well as reaction times, but more importantly he needed to see how his opponent could use a feint so he can spot it and be prepared for it. Having gotten his butt handed to him they only took a 8 minute breather before it was time to get back to training, he repeated the same thing as before only this time instead of doing sit-ups the blonde did push-ups instead.

Instead of sparring this time his mentor began to teach him one of the Jūnishi no Ken techniques, starting off with Saru no Ken (Monkey Fist). According to his mentor the style has various difficult acrobatic movements, like flipping sideways in the air, front flips, back flips, hand stands, walking on the hands, forward and backwards lunges, spinning on the butt and back, and finally many kicks and strikes. Naruto was eager to learn it, he followed his mentors movements as they slowly did the style together. His mentor also told him that this style mostly goes after the throat, knees, groin area, eyes, and hand strikes can be either open palm or claw like. The blonde said he would rather do the open palm strike because it just seemed to fit better. Naruto was aware his little body wouldn't be able to last much longer but he still persisted and refused to stop until he could no longer move his arms or legs and his body refused to move anymore. Well after about 10 hours of doing this training session all three things happened at the same time, his arms felt limp, his legs felt like led, and his body was sore and tired all over. In other words he hit his limit.

"Well done, Naruto. Though to be honest I wasn't expecting you to last this long actually, but you've proved me wrong. Good job." The red head smiled.

Naruto's heavy breathing was his only response.

"Now before you pass out eat something first, okay?"

"Guh…"

Sage lifted the blonde into his arms carrying him inside to get something to eat. Naruto's eyes were only half way open so he couldn't see what the inside of the house looked like because he was too tired to keep them open. Everything else felt like a blur to him as he was soon settled into a comfy bed and closed his eyes instantly refusing to open them until morning.

 _'_ _He's looks quite adorable sleeping like that.'_ Sage commented inside his head.

Leaving the room he was met with Eden, "He's sleeping soundly and the barrier can only be broken by the same spiritual energy I use instead of chakra, so we don't have to worry about the Hokage sending someone here to forcibly take Naruto away."

 **"** **That puts your mind at ease no doubt."**

"It does." He walked away.

 **"** **Are you leaving again?"**

"I'll be back by morning, don't worry I'll leave one of my Shikigami here to watch over him." Sage said.

 **"** **Be careful."**

"You don't have to tell me."

* * *

It was a giggle that woke him up the next morning, well the sunlight contributed to wakening him up too, but it was the constant giggling that did the trick. Cracking one eye open he felt he wasn't on a comfy bed anymore, instead he felt as though he was floating in water, which was weird. Finally managing to open his eyes fully he saw what appeared to be some sort of little person with wings floating right above his head, wait-there was more than one actually.

"Oh, you're awake!"

"Good morning, little sage!"

"Yes, good morning!"

"Awww, he's soo cute~!"

Naruto was still a little out of it to say anything back to the floating little people as he called them and simply stared off into space until he realized he really was floating in water but it smelled really good and oh yeah…he was also naked! Sitting up suddenly he looked around to see he was in what appeared to be some sort of giant bath with pink flowers floating all around him, "Where…?"

"Don't worry, this water is guaranteed to help with sore muscles even make you feel refreshed. You feel it now don't you?"the little one with long pink hair said.

Naruto just now noticed he wasn't sore anymore, not only that but he didn't feel all that tired compared to yesterday either.

"I feel…fine." He commented looking over at himself before looking at one of the little people that landed on his shoulder.

"That's good." She smiled.

"Uh, who are you?"

"For not saying, "what are you?" we'll tell you because you're such a sweet boy. My name is Opal, we are known as a type of race that are related to fairies, but you may refer to us as "Gem Fairies." Opal grinned. She had short hair that was the same color as her name.

"My turn, my turn! My name is Amethyst!" the one with long purple hair that was in a low ponytail introduced.

"I'm Emerald." The one with green hair and two pigtails grinned as she introduced herself.

"I'm the last one! My names Corundum!" the one with long pink hair introduced herself last.

Naruto smiled, "Pretty names."

"Awww, you are just such a sweetie. We should just kidnap you and have you all to ourselves." Corundum cooed as she rubbed against his cheek.

"Um, you said you were gem fairies. Does that mean you're named after gems?" Naruto asked.

They busted out giggling finding his question to be highly amusing, "Oh no little sage, we Gem Fairies created the gem's you humans use now. The gems were in fact named after us since we are their creators, do you understand?"

Naruto nodded, "I understand, Opal-san."

"You can call me Opal-chan!"Opal grinned.

"Hey no fair!"Emerald pouted.

"Yeah, he should be calling you 'obā-san' instead of 'chan,' right?"Amethyst teased.

Corundum snickered.

"What was that?" Opal growled.

The door suddenly opened, "My it sure is noisy in here." Sage said.

"Oji-san!" Naruto smiled.

"Hey there, how are you feeling?"

"I feel great! What are we doing today?" Naruto asked.

"Actually some new yokai and sprites want to meet you so they've been popping up in the village trying to find you, why don't you go and greet them?" Sage told the boy.

"Go inside the village…" Naruto looked down as he thought about going back into the village but then shook his head, "Okay!" the four gem fairies got him a towel so he could cover his lower half, once he did that he left the bathroom to get dressed.

"Sage! Why are you allowing him to walk around in that cesspool of garbage?!" Opal growled getting in his face.

"He'll be fine, I gave him something that will protect him from any negativity on both sides. There's a bracelet with the new clothes I got for him he'll see it and put it on." Sage explained calmly.

"That's not the point! Why do we have to share him with those _humans_?!" Emerald spat.

"You four need to relax," he sighed, "I promise you he'll be fine."

"I say we drag some unsuspecting humans over to the other side never to be seen or heard from ever again." Amethyst suggested.

"I agree to that." Corundum was all for the idea.

Sage rubbed his temples, _'They love him way too much, and they've just met him.'_

* * *

Naruto was in his room that was large and he loved it. Being in this new house and room didn't feel lonely because he had friends that were always watching over him from the shadows. Putting on his red kimono shirt with yellow butterfly patterns on it, along with some black pants and boots he noticed a bracelet that had an orange gem in the center of it, picking it up he place it on his right wrist before leaving his room. He never noticed it glow as soon as he put it on.

Sage spotted him in the hallway, "I knew that would look good on you, do you like it?" he was taken off guard when the blond hugged him tightly.

"Thank you…" Naruto muttered.

Sage rubbed his head, "You're welcome, are you ready to go?"

Naruto removed himself before nodding. The two of them the house before departing to the forest, the blonde asked where Eden-jiji went off to, Sage just said the old man went to go check up on his grandchildren that's all. Satisfied Naruto didn't ask anymore questions as they almost neared the village, Sage suddenly stopped them as he bent down until he was making eye contact with Naruto, "Now Naruto, I can only watch over you from a distance. Will you be alright without me?"

Naruto gave him a determined nod, "I'll be okay. If anything happens I'll be able to take care of it, I promise."

Sage seemed satisfied with the answer and allowed the blonde to walk forward as Sage became red mist intending to watch the boy closely as he went around the village.

Naruto was looking around to see if he could spot any new yokai or spirits that came here to see him, so far he hadn't seen any yet but he did say hello to those he already knew, like the Alley lady who complimented him on his new clothes and a Yatagarasu, which was a three-legged crow that greeted him as well. The crow gave Naruto some new information about what was going on in the village, according to the crow there were indeed some new yokai that arrived and were very eager to meet him. The crow also gave his displeasure on the humans that were spreading false and vicious rumors about him being a demon in human skin, normally hearing such things would sadden Naruto but now he didn't really care what they thought. Thanking the crow he was off on his search again looking around for about 2 minutes before he finally noticed something interesting. There stood a woman with long curly dark blue hair holding a blue umbrella, sporting a black kimono. She looked utterly disgusted with her surroundings too, figuring she was the new yokai in the area he approached her, "Hi."

She was startled that the boy suddenly greeted her with a friendly smile, "Y-You! You can see me?!"

"Yeah, my names Naruto Uzumaki, what's yours?" Naruto greeted.

The woman blinked not knowing what to say but spoke anyway, "I-I'm Ame-onna, the rain woman. Wait a minute, Naruto Uzumaki! You're the child that can see and speak to us!"

"Mm, I heard there were new yokai and spirits here so I wanted to see you. You're really pretty, too." Naruto said honestly.

She blushed, _'He-He think's I'm pretty?'_

"You looked mad earlier, did someone make you mad?" he asked.

She scowled again, "Its these humans, I just can't stand their attitudes!"

"Me neither." Naruto frowned.

"Have they been bullying you child?" she asked.

"No…but they say mean things about me all the time and I didn't even do anything wrong. But it's okay because I have all of you with me now, so I'm not lonely anymore." He smiled.

Ame gave the boy a hug making him blink but he let her hug him, "Ignore those worthless fools, and if they ever do anything to you or say another bad thing about you, we'll deal with them, that's a promise."

Naruto nodded his head, "Hey Ame-san, do you know where the other new yokai are?"

She broke the hug and scowled again, "I know where the rest are, but I don't like them."

"Eh?"

"But…I'll take you to them even if it means I have to see that bony hag again." Ame complained as she and Naruto walked together, meanwhile the blonde was trying to figure out who this 'bony hag' was. As they walked around Naruto noticed they were entering another part of the village that had women wearing kimonos and the place looked really different too.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"Kabukichō," Ame shuddered with disgust, "Honestly, why does that deplorable woman insist on mingling here of all places with these damn humans."

"Because I like it."

Naruto turned around and saw a very pretty lady with black hair that was tied up in a high bun, she was wearing a beautiful red kimono with beautiful patterns on them, she also had pretty silver eyes.

"Pretty…" he stared in awe.

The woman covered her mouth with her sleeve in amusement, "Ara, why thank you dear."

Ame covered his eyes, "Don't be fooled by her! She may look beautiful but she's a real demon waiting to pounce on you at any moment!"

A tick mark appeared on the woman's head and her eyebrow started twitching, "As unpleasant as always."

"As shameless as always." Ame countered.

"Oh?" the black haired woman snarled.

"Um…" Naruto said starting to get uncomfortable.

"Ara, I'm sorry about that dearie. Where are my manners? I am Hone-Onna, the bone woman but you can call me Hone-chan though." Hone smiled.

"In that case you can call me Ame-chan!" Ame told the boy.

"Y-Yes, nice to meet you Hone-chan. I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto greeted.

"I know, we've heard about you." Hone leaned down showing him something he'll never forget, half of her skin started rotting showing her boned skin, "Does it scare you?"

Naruto did something she didn't expect him to do, he placed both hands on each side of her face giving her a sad look, "Does it hurt?"

She couldn't suppress a smile that showed on her face, placing her hands over his she responded, "Not anymore."

"That's good." He smiled.

Hone hugged him tightly, "You really are a sweet boy, I may just keep you to myself."

Ame yanked Naruto way quickly, "Not on your life, you hag." She growled.

"Ara, and who do you think you're calling 'hag" little girl?" Hone sneered.

"Little girl?!" there's nothing little about me, you hag!" Ame yelled.

"Are you sure about that?"

"I _will_ drown you!"

"Be my guest."

Naruto had absolutely no idea what was going on but all he knew now was that he made two new friends, Ame-Onna and Hone-Onna. Today was becoming a good day.

* * *

After the whole Hone and Ame argument was over Naruto told the two female yokai that he was wanted to find the rest of new yokai all on his own. He assured them that he would be very careful but they still looked worried, but he would be okay. Walking around the village became surprisingly pleasant actually, probably because his mind was elsewhere and not so focused on the people here. Since he didn't see anymore yokai in the village anywhere he decided to head out in the forest area hoping he would see some out there, but no such luck. Maybe they were playing hide-and-seek? Do yokai even do that? The very thought of playing hide-and-seek with them sounds fun.

Walking by a tree he stopped dead in his tracks spotting something that caught his eye. It was a butterfly, but in his opinion it was the prettiest butterfly he had ever seen! The butterfly was yellow with four black tiger stripes on each forewing, he didn't now why but there was just something about this butterfly that drew him towards it. Lifting up his finger the yellow butterfly left the tree in favor of its new spot on the blonde's finger. The way it moved its wings kept him captivated for some reason, while he had seen a dragonfly before it didn't keep him this interested as this butterfly did.

"Hey, would you like to be my friend, too?" Naruto asked as the butterfly merely moved its wings, but he took that response as a 'yes' making him smile, "Then…stay with me forever." The butterfly began to glow the same beautiful yellow color keeping Naruto even more interested. It was such a soft and warm glow that felt so familiar to him, where had he felt this before? His attention was brought back to the butterfly as it seemed to make more, the other glowing butterflies surrounded him creating a beautiful light as they did. Naruto couldn't stop the smile forming on his face as he watched the butterflies dance around him, it made him happy.

"So many…"

The butterflies continued to dance around him until they merged back with the butterfly still perched on his finger that soon moved to his right shoulder, "Guess that means you'll be with me forever." He grinned.

Watching from the shadows Sage smiled as he saw the boy create his very first familiar even though it was by pure luck, but that might be part of the blonde's charisma.

"But still…to create his very first familiar and all on his own no less. I couldn't be more proud." Sage smiled.

Naruto sighed as he started getting hungry and went back into the village to head home, well that was the plan anyway but a smell he'd never smelled before assaulted his nose. Turning to the source he noticed a place called Ichiraku Ramen that was creating such a delicious smell, though hesitant at first he walked inside the eatery noticing no one was here.

"Oh, welcome."

The greeting took him by surprise as he stared into the eyes of a man wearing chief's hat sporting a smile on his face, "H-Hi…" he stuttered.

"What would you like to have today? Its on the house." The man told him.

"On the house?"

"Meaning you don't have to pay for it." He elaborated.

Naruto looked skeptical but sat down in one of the chairs and ordered pork-flavored ramen to start off with. He waited patiently for the ramen to be done while he waited he took the time to look around the place having never set foot in here before.

 _'_ _Its small, but the old man seems really nice.'_ He thought.

"Here you go!" the man placed to bowl of ramen before the boy.

Naruto stared at it for a few minutes before slowly taking his first bite of the dish known as ramen, there was a jolt that went through his body as he felt his taste buds explode from the taste. Without saying a word he proceeded to eat more of his ramen all the while never seeing the gentle smile the man gave him as he ate. When he finished he turned his attention to the man, "That was really good."

"Glad you like it." The man grinned, "You'll never find another place that sells good ramen like we do!"

"Yeah, hey mister what's your name?" Naruto asked.

"Names Teuchi!" Teuchi introduced.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, thanks for letting me eat here." He thanked the nice man.

"You're welcome, please come again Naruto." He said.

Naruto got down from the seat, "I will, bye." He left the ramen place feeling a little bit happier than before having spoken to a person and not having them say anything mean to him, maybe he will come back again some other time.

"I wonder if there are any other yokai around here." He wondered. The butterfly on his shoulder suddenly took off in a different direction prompting the blonde to follow it wondering where the butterfly was going. The yellow butterfly soon took them to another part of the forest that he had never seen before; there was a sign on a post too.

"What's this say? "Forty-Third Training Ground," are there yokai in there?" Naruto asked the butterfly that perched back on his shoulder but it didn't speak only moved its wings, "Guess that's another 'yes,' huh?" before the boy could step foot in there though he heard a voice.

 ** _"_** ** _Don't come in here, child of man."_**

He didn't move an inch, the voice sounded feminine but it didn't sound menacing as she was probably trying to sound.

"Are you a yokai?" Naruto asked.

 ** _"_** ** _I am. You cannot come in here yet; when I deem you are ready you may enter into my territory. Until then, stay away."_**

He nodded, "Okay, I won't try to enter. I'll come back again soon." He promised walking away from the area to head off elsewhere.

 ** _"_** ** _Do as you please…"_**

Hearing it he smiled, "I'll definitely come back again." He whispered as he continued his way without looking back, "Guess I'll head back home." He said seeing no real reason to stay in the village, about 2 minutes later he suddenly felt something sinister that was heading right for him.

Naruto looked around, "What is this feeling? So dark…" before he knew what hit him something black appeared behind him about to take his head off but the butterfly on his shoulder stood before them creating a barrier that prevented the blonde from getting hurt. The black thing backed off allowing Naruto to get a better look at it; it looked like some kind of sludge with red eyes.

"What is this thing? A yokai?" he stared then jumped back as it tried to get at him with one of its claws again, "Why are you attacking me?! What kind of yokai are you?!" he demanded.

The black sludge didn't respond as it attacked the blonde again who would jump back or out of the way to avoid getting hit, "It won't respond no matter what I say to it, what now?" he looked at his hand balling it into a fist, "Maybe…" his attention was back on the mystery black thing as it came at him again, moving to the right he brought up his fist punching it as hard as he could resulting in it slamming into several trees as it landed on its back.

"No way…" he stared at his hand, "I can actually hit it? And it went down." Looking back he saw it didn't get back up and wondered what he should do now.

"Naruto."

"Sage-oji-san!"

"Listen to me closely, you need to seal it back to where it came from." Sage told him.

"H-How am I supposed to do that?" Naruto questioned.

"You have to say an incantation, something unique only to you. I know you can do it so just calm down and focus." He instructed.

Naruto looked back at the unconscious thing before him, _'Something unique only to me? Like what?'_ he thought really hard about what sort of incantation he should use to seal it away, and just like a bolt of lightning it hit him.

 _"_ _Creation of black, The world of black._

 _Howling Wind._

 _God of the Wind Seal_

 ** _Fūjin!"_**

Naruto howled sending a fierce blue wind towards the creature covering its body before it dissipated into pure light vanishing without a trace. Naruto sighed as he felt Sage stand before him, "What was that thing?"

"A Bakemono." Sage simply said.

Naruto gave him a surprised look, "Bakemono…"

Sage sighed, "Yes. I figured they'd find out about your existence soon enough but not this soon. You're very lucky to have survived your very first confrontation with one, let alone defeat one at such a young age. Some credit should also go to that familiar of yours."

"Familiar?"

"Magical creatures that usually take the forms of animals or humanoid creatures, but they serve those who create them," Sage explained, "In this case you just created your very first familiar in a rather…interesting form."

Naruto stared at the yellow butterfly that decided to take to the air before landing on his finger making him smile, "You saved me, thank you." The yellow butterfly came closer to his face before it glowed dimly near his left eye merging with his face. Opening his left eye he wondered just what happened because Sage looked amused for some reason. The man brought out a mini mirror showing the blonde child that the yellow butterfly merged with the left side of his face creating a yellow butterfly tattoo. It looked pretty cool actually.

"Pretty…" Naruto said in awe.

"I bet, lets get you home now. You look tired." Sage told him.

As if to prove his point the boy yawned a little and didn't hesitate to take the man's hand as they walked home which was in the forest away from the village and the noise. Today was fun; he got to meet other yokai, talk to Teuchi and eat at his place and got his very own familiar. Yep, today was a good day.

* * *

Naruto winced as he pricked his finger on the needle again. This was the fourth time he did that; with a sigh he tried again making sure not to prick his finger this time. Even as he said this in his head he knew he would do it again, the reason he kept pricking his finger with the needle was because Sage told him that it would be beneficial for him to make his own clothes. The blonde didn't disagree with him and found it to be fun so here he was now making a shirt and so far it was coming out well despite him stabbing himself in the finger from time to time. It was a yellow colored long-sleeved shirt with black butterfly patterns on it, he got the idea to use butterflies from his very first familiar who he finally named.

Chō (Butterfly).

It might seem stupid but he couldn't really think of another name to give to the pretty insect, which was steadily becoming his favorite. He didn't really mind other insects like caterpillars, spiders, dragonflies, etc. with one final stich his shirt was complete. He held it before him letting the sun's ray's shine light upon the shirt with a satisfied smile on his face. Standing up from his seated position from outside his house in the backyard he walked back inside and went upstairs to his bedroom. Putting his shirt on that went well with the black pants he was wearing along with black boots he looked at himself in the mirror to see how it looked. His new look went really well with the bracelets on his wrists.

So far, so good.

"Heh, that looks good on you." Opal complimented appearing out of nowhere sitting on his shoulder.

"You think so, too?" Naruto said.

Opal giggled, "Oh most definitely! You look soo handsome!"

"Thank you, Opal." He smiled.

With that done he went downstairs heading towards the kitchen and saw Sage was making breakfast for the two of them, "Good morning, Sage-oji-san."

"Morning, squirt." Sage greeted.

Naruto took a seat with Opal still perched on his shoulder, "What are you making?"

Sage put a finger to his lips, "It's a secret."

Naruto pouted making Opal giggle at the close relationship the two share, "What do you plan on doing today, Naruto?" she asked.

"I'm going to hang out with Hone-Onna today," he said, "I wanted to talk with her some more then maybe I'll go and hang out with the other Yokai in the area."

"Oh? Just make sure you be careful and watch out for those pesky Bakemono too." Opal scowled remembering how the boy was attacked yesterday.

"Don't worry, if anything happens I've got Chō with me." Naruto assured her as the butterfly flapped its wings while still merged on the left side of the blonde's face. The butterfly was his first familiar and through it he could summon more butterflies.

"Speaking of which," Sage spoke up placing two plates down on the table, "You'll need to learn how to create a Shikigami."

"Shikigami?" Naruto questioned.

"They are servant spirits that obey the person that creates them, while also acting as protectors as well as spies." Sage explained, "Its best you make them sooner than later, so before you go and greet Hone-Onna I want you to try and create your first Shikigami."

"Can I really?" Naruto asked his eyes brimming with excitement.

Sage nodded, "We'll start right after you finish your meal."

Naruto ate normally but he was still very excited to start creating his very own Shikigami. Sage told him yesterday before he went to sleep that he would help him work on channeling his Spiritual Energy. According to his uncle all humans possess it but those with a higher amount can see spirits or posses other supernatural abilities. Sage stated that Naruto's was higher than the average human which explains why he can see yokai and spirits. He was also told that the sealing art he did was connected to the wind god Fūjin. Sage called it, "Genso no Fū (Elemental Seal)." Meaning the blonde can now call upon the power of the wind god to seal off Bakemono returning them to whatever realm they came from. Sage explained that there are four elemental seals: Fire Seal-Hi Fū (火 封), Wind Seal-Kaze Fū (風 封), Water Seal-Mizu Fū (水 封), and Earth Seal-Tsuchi Fū (土 封). Out of those seals each god governs them, the God of Fire-Kagu-tsuchi, the God of Wind-Fūjin, the God of Water-Suijin, and the God of the Earth-Ōkuninushi. Naruto was able to call upon the wind god Fūjin's seal and use it to seal away that Bakemono from yesterday, still not understanding how he did it.

"Hey, Sage-oji-san?" Naruto called the man's name suddenly.

"Hm?"

"I still don't get how I was able to use the elemental seal of the wind god yesterday." Naruto said.

Sage sported a thoughtful look, "I believe its because the wind god found you worthy of using his seal."

"Worthy?"

"Yep. Look at you, not even in your teen years and you've already got one of the elemental gods to bestow their seal onto you." Sage teased.

Naruto blushed, "I-I didn't really do anything..."

"Don't be so modest, Naruto. To be given the seal of one of the elemental gods shows they trust you." Opal smiled.

"But they've ever met me." Naruto said.

Sage snorted, "Trust me squirt, they don't need to meet you in person to now everything about you."

"Really?" Naruto looked over at Opal.

"Yep, though I've never met any of them before, so I can't tell you what they're like." Opal said.

"Oh."

Sage clapped his hands, "Enough of that now, time to get you started on creating your own Shikigami."

Naruto looked excited, "I'm getting excited."

"Me too." Opal grinned.

* * *

The three were outside in the backyard with Sage standing before Naruto, Opal on the blondes shoulder eager to see a Shikigami herself.

"Since you've already created a familiar on your very first try, which is a good thing. A shikigami can be good protectors as well," he took out a piece of paper that was shaped like a person, "This paper is used to create shikigami's, they can take any form their creator wishes them too, be it a person or an animal. Plus they don't need chakra to be created but Spiritual Energy." Sage explained.

"Wow..." Naruto said in awe.

"I see, so that's how a Shikigami is created." Opal said.

"Do you have one of your own?" Naruto asked.

"I have several actually, but I'll show them to you next time. Right now, lets focus on creating yours." Sage said.

"Okay."

Sage gave the paper over to the blonde, "Now just concentrate your Spiritual Energy on the paper, then imagine what form you want your Shikigami to take."

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes doing his best to concentrate into what he wanted his Shikigami to look like. He just needed to imagine something, from an animal, to a person, or an insect.

Well...he did like butterflies, so...

"Open your eyes, Naruto." Sage said.

Opening his eyes, he stared into the face of a woman with long blue hair that was tied in a low ponytail, hanging over her left shoulder. Her kimono was sky blue, with blue butterfly patterns on them, silver eyes, wearing dark blue lipstick, one bang covered her right eye.

Naruto blinked, "Wha...?"

Opal flew over to the still woman wanting to get a better look, "Very impressive, she has the appearance of a human but you can clearly sense her spiritual aura. Nicely done, Naruto."

Naruto stared at the woman in awe, "I really created her?"

"That you did, kiddo. Now you have to give her a name." Sage said.

"A name?" Naruto questioned.

"That's right, you can't just have a Shikigami and not give it a name." The man said.

Naruto thought about what to name his new Shikigami but didn't have to think for very long because he thought of the perfect name for her.

"Chiharu."

Opal smiled, "One thousand springs," good choice. You're putting that book to good use."

Sage raised a brow, "What book?"

"A book of girl names we gave him," Opal snickered, "He'll need it in the near future."

The red head rubbed his temples, "You...he's still a child."

"Not too early to think of a name for a future child." Opal grinned.

"You lot are too damn nosy."

Opal rolled her eyes, "Pot calling the kettle black?"

"Touché."

"Naturally."

Naruto ignored the two as he kept his gaze on his new Shikigami, "Do you like your new name, Chiharu?"

Chiharu smiled as she kneeled before the blonde, "I am here to serve you, Naruto-sama."

The blonde blushed not used to being referred to in a respectful manner, "Th-Thanks, but you can just call me Naruto."

"Yes." She said.

Sage chuckled, "He's so cute sometimes."

Opal nodded in agreement.

* * *

Hone smiled as her little blonde became surrounded by the human women of her brothel. Back when she was still alive the role of the working girl used to be her, but now she was the madam of her own brothel, as well as one of the 'Heads' of the yokai. Despite her appearance the woman was strong and fierce, especially in her full body form which is rare for her to use unless it was absolutely necessary. Her inner thoughts vanished as she turned her attention back towards Naruto who was settled in one of her girls lap, having his head rubbed as though he were a little animal, which when taking one good look at him one would naturally think that.

With a chuckle she decided to save the boy from becoming their new plaything, "All right girl that's enough, time to get to work!" She ordered.

"Eh~?" Was their response.

"Don't "eh~" me," Hone chided, "You can play with him later, work comes first."

The girl all pouted but went to work as they were ordered to, but not without giving the cute little blonde a kiss on the cheek making his whole face turn red having not expected it.

Hone though found it amusing, "Looks like you've become their new favorite male. You look cute blushing by the way."

Naruto pouted, "It's not my fault I blushed, the females in the village hate my guts and won't evenkids my cheek. I'm not used to it."

Hone rolled her eyes, "Who cares about those close-minded fools, by the way interesting shikigami you've created." She eyed the woman was sitting next to Naruto looking calm and well behaved.

"I just made her today, this is Chiharu." Naruto introduced.

Chiharu bowed politely to Hone-Onna, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Hone-sama."

"Likewise little butterfly, speaking of nice little addition." Hone complimented the butterfly tatto on the side of the boy's face that was actually his familiar.

"I created after I was attacked by a Bakemono," Naruto recalled what happened at the time, "It took me by surprise! I wasn't expecting to make a familiar even if it was an accident."

"So I see, now then why else are you here for, Naruto?" Hone asked.

"I came here to give you a name." he said.

"A name? Me?" she said sounding confused.

"Yeah, I know you used to have a human name before you became a yokai but you probably can't even remember it anymore, so I found the perfect name to give you." Naruto said.

"Oh really, what is it?" Hone raised a brow.

"Katsumi."

"Katsumi...hmmm, I have to admit I like the name very much." Katsumi smiled.

"Yep."

He got up off the couch, "I should get going now, but I'll see you again real soon."

"Before you go I have something to give you, as a thank you gift for the lovely name you gave me." she smiled.

* * *

Naruto was currently back at his house after he left the Forest of Death's gate after he gave spider woman her name, which was Ran, as for Ame-Onna he gave her the name Miyuki. The two had different reactions, Miyuki was bragging how her name sounded better than the 'old hag's,' while Ran simply said it was acceptable, but he knew she liked it. After that was done he went back home to practice his sowing and just finished making another robe.

"That looks good." Sage complimented as he leaned against the door of the room.

"Thanks, but I still have a long way to go before they look good enough." Naruto said.

"Don't rush, things like sowing take time to get right." Sage told him.

"I know..." Naruto said.

Sage leaned off the door frame, "Naruto, how would you feel about adding weapons training tomorrow along with other things?"

Naruto thought about the offer, learning how to use a variety of weapons such as, katana's spear, bow and arrows would be very useful actually.

"Okay."

"Also, I plan on teaching you some spiritual abilities that will no doubt help you in the near future." Sage said.

"Spiritual abilities...I want to learn as much as I can. Please don't go easy on me." Naruto didn't know it but he would soon egret those very words.

Sage smirked, "Then I won't.

* * *

 **Next Time** **: Kyūbi**


	3. Kyūbi

**"When you walk to the edge of all the light you have and take that first step into the darkness of the unknown, you must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for you to stand upon or you will be taught to fly."**

 **-Patrick Overton**

* * *

This will also be a crossover with XxxHolic, Tsubasa Chronicles, Inuyasha, Saiyuki, and anything else I decide to add in.

* * *

He held the crossbow staring at it with interest. Sage said that learning how to use different weapons would help him in the near future, so without any complaints he started learning weaponry. Right now, he was learning how to shoot arrows and actually trying to hit the target in the middle but so far he only managed to hit near the middle.

Not what he wanted but it was a start.

Besides, no one gets things right on their first try.

With a sigh he tried again, getting in position he pulled back the arrow attached to the string being completely calm as he aimed at the center of the circle then released it, not hitting the center but close enough to it like last time.

"Almost got it, huh?" Sage walked over.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, almost. Archery is a lot harder than it looks."

"I told you it would be, see Archery takes a lot of patience as well as a calm mind. If your mind isn't calm, then either are you." He cryptically said.

Naruto huffed, "You always say things that sound confusing."

Sage ruffled his hair, "Have you ever known me to speak like everyone else?"

"...No." Naruto admitted, pouting slightly.

"Then there you go."

Naruto looked back to the bow in his hand, "Hey, Sage-oji-san?"

"Hm?"

"Where did you get this bow from? It looks really pretty." Naruto said.

He was right. The bow was white with blue markings on it, from what he knew from a little, bows were normally brown and plain looking but this one looked really pretty.

"Ah, I got it from an old friend of mine." He got a nostalgic look on his face, "You'll meet her eventually, either on your own or she'll summon you herself. She's a very...curious individual."

Naruto didn't quite understand what he meant by that but he had this strange feeling that his 'old friend' of his was someone he couldn't wait to meet.

"What's she like?" He asked.

Sage smiled, "You'll know when you meet her."

Naruto was still curious but didn't ask anymore questions. This person he will eventually meet sounds like a kind and caring person.

 _'Maybe...'_

* * *

"Ah, I know who his 'old friend' is," Yatagarasu aka Iwao, meaning 'stone man' given to him by Naruto said, "She is a very interesting individual, I believe you will come to like her very much." He said perched on the boy's shoulder as they walked through the forest.

"You think so, too?" Naruto said as he held the basket in his hand. Since it was taking awhile for the vegetables in the backyard of his own home to grow he decided to pick some around the village's forest.

Iwao hummed in response, "Yes, and I'll say this about her, too..."

Naruto didn't say anything as he waited for his friend to continue.

"She is very powerful."

The boy gulped wondering just how powerful this woman was and hoped he'd get to meet her soon. He focused his thoughts on something else as they arrived in a clearing where there were vegetables all around, from carrots, to leeks, and eggplants. One can do many things with the given vegetables he listed, and since shinobi and civilians never come here it was perfect for him.

"What possessed you to want vegetables all of a sudden?" Iwao wondered.

Naruto smiled as he plucked some eggplants and leeks and a few carrots too, "Sage said he was going to make some vegetable stew so I need to get everything ready, plus I need to take notes so I can learn to cook, too. It's one of my goals."

Iwao flapped his wings, "I see, an interesting goal indeed. Is making your own clothes a part of your goal, too?"

"Yeah, if I went out into the village and tried to get some clothes from a store they wont let me." Naruto said not sounding bothered by it.

"True, your clothes have more style to them as well as more protection." Iwao said.

"What do you mean?"

Iwao looked up, "Clothes with patterns sowed on them provide protection depending on what the pattern is. For example, the pattern on your hand-made clothes are butterflies, therefore you have the protection of the butterflies that are sown into your clothes."

Naruto was starting to understand, so since he made butterfly patterns on some of his kimono shirts and even some kimonos he'd started making that means he's well protected. Interesting to know.

"Sage-oji-san was talking like I was going to meet her no matter what." Naruto said as he collected the last of things he needed for the stew. He was confused when Iwao started chuckling as though he just said something funny.

"That's because all things are...inevitable." the crow said with amusement.

Naruto was even more confused now, what did he mean by 'all things are inevitable? And what does that word even mean? He should ask Sage-oji-san, he'll know what it means since he knows a lot of things.

He stood up leaving the area while still thinking about the Yatagarasu's words. Then there was that word he said.

Inevitable.

The word feels very important for some reason.

* * *

Naruto watched his uncle make the stew adding some meat in with it too and couldn't stop his mouth from watering. It smelled so good too!

"Where did you get the meat?" He wondered.

Sage smiled his back still turned to the boy, "I was wondering when you were going to ask me, to answer your question I got this meat by hunting and killing a few squirrels."

Naruto stilled, "You...killed a squirrel?"

Sage could feel the boy's anxiety and abandoned the stew for a bit to flick his forehead, "Don't give me that look, little sage. Everything must eat to survive, humans, animals, even plants. Man has always hunted animals for survival, its an unspoken agreement between man and nature, okay?"

Naruto kind of understood and at the same time didn't, but he knew what his uncle was saying is right so he nodded his head as the man went back over to the stew to check on it. Its not like he didn't wonder about where food comes from though, but soon forgot about it quickly. He was glad his uncle was here to teach him these kinds of things.

"Sage-oji-san, were you able to see yōkai when you were my age?" Naruto asked.

Sage finished up the stew and made two plates, "As a matter of fact I did see them when I was about your age. Care to guess what kind of yōkai I met?"

Naruto crossed his arms thinking about it really hard. He hadn't met many yōkai yet so he couldn't give an accurate guess.

"A crow yōkai?"

Sage place both plates on the table, "Nope, but good guess though. The very first yōkai I met at your age, was a Amazake babā."

"Amazake babā?"

"A yōkai with the appearance of a haggardly old woman from the north. Since an Amazake babā is practically indistinguishable from an ordinary old woman, its difficult to tell if she's a yōkai or a human." He explained.

Naruto took a bite of his stew and hummed with how good it tasted, "Was it a bad yōkai?"

"Not when I first met her, but she told me that back in the day she would visit people and ask if they have any amazake. If they answered 'yes' or 'no' then they would fall ill." He told the blonde.

"Fall ill? Like they got sick?" Naruto questioned.

"That's right. She also told me that some people in the village she was visiting would hang a cedar branch over their door to keep her from approaching their homes." He said.

"Did it work?"

"It did," Sage finished the rest of his stew, "When we first met and I told her that I could tell she wasn't human, she was surprised."

Naruto hummed and finished his stew, "What happened? Did she ask if you had any amazake?"

He chuckled, "The opposite. She asked if I wanted to have a drink with her."

Naruto blinked, "Did you?"

"I did. Sure I got scolded for accepting the offer afterwards but it was too good to pass up." He smiled fondly at the memory.

The blonde squirmed in his seat, "So...what happened to her?"

"Oh, we still keep in touch. If you like I could contact her and have her come here to meet you." He suggested.

"Really?" Naruto's eyes were brimming with excitement.

"Yes, now then. It's time to train again." Sage told him sadistically.

Naruto's spine tingled.

This was gonna hurt.

* * *

"This feels good..." Naruto sighed as he slid his whole body in the bath. He could feel his tense muscles begin to ease up and sighed. After lunch they got to training in hand to hand combat again, his uncle told him that tomorrow they'll work on one of twelve zodiac styles, and after that they'll work on his senjutsu chakra.

"How are your muscles feeling?" A female voice asked. He turned his gaze towards the entrance and saw Chiharu's twin sister as he called her. He created her yesterday after he finished his sowing for the day. The name he gave her was Chinatsu—meaning 'a thousand summers.' Unlike her sister who wore the color blue, Chinatsu wore a red kimono with butterfly patterns on them, silver eyes, wearing dark red lipstick, and one bang covering her left eye. They're identical twins, yet complete opposites. While Chiharu was polite and well-mannered, Chinatsu was easy-going and rude, but she wasn't rude towards him or her twin sister. She loved them too much.

"Better." He groaned, standing up out of the tub slowly as Chinatsu walked towards him holding out a towel. Giving her a grateful smile he took the towel from her and wrapped it around his lower area, "Thank you, Chinatsu."

"Don't mention it, Naruto-sama." She winked.

He went to his room and dried himself off. He decided to wear one of his handmade shirt kimonos today. It was black with gold dragonflies on it this time. Yesterday he decided to change the patterns on his kimono's, so for today he chose dragonflies. Putting on his grey pants, and his black boots he headed for the door, only to pause when he forgot to put on the bracelet his uncle gave him then left.

Sage saw his nephew come out of his room, "Going out for the day?"

Naruto nodded, "Yep."

"Going to visit Katsumi and Miyuki again today? Or even Ran?" Sage still couldn't believe the boy had taken a liking to the 'spider woman.' All lower yōkai were afraid of her, and it wasn't because of how she looks.

Naruto shook his head, "I'm just going to walk around with Chiharu and Chinatsu. Oh, and if I see any new yōkai I'll tell them to stop by here."

"I see, then take care." Sage waved him off.

"I will."

Naruto headed out the door, Chiharu and Chinatsu right by his side as they started heading towards the village. Sage watched them go with a smile, "Now then...I know she's probably gotten curious by now. So why not call her ahead of time?"

After all.

All things are inevitable.

* * *

Chiharu and Chinatsu were Shikigami. They were created for the sole purpose of protecting their master from anything they perceive as a threat. Be it human or yōkai, no harm shall come to him. Those were their thoughts as they walked around the village with their master and observed the humans around them. The looks they gave their master were...unpleasant to say the least, but Naruto didn't seem to be aware of it.

No.

He was aware, but didn't care about these inferior humans. The whispers started next, but this time it was about the twins.

 _"She has a sister?"_

 _"And they're both following that demon brat?"_

 _"How can they stand to be anywhere near it?"_

 _"They must be demons, too! That's the only explanation!"_

Chinatsu rolled her eyes, "These humans are so stupid its pathetic."

"They are. While its true we're not human I don't particularly like being compared to a demon of all things." Chiharu frowned.

"What I wouldn't give to teach these humans a lesson." Chinatsu thought out loud.

"Don't, we will only defend ourselves if Naruto-sama commands it." Chiharu told her.

"Think they'll be stupid enough to try something?" Chinatsu questioned.

"Who knows, but if they do...well, you know what to do." Chiharu said coldly.

Chinatsu grinned, "Hell yeah."

Naruto smiled as he heard the two engaging in a conversation they seemed to be really into. Looks like they're enjoying themselves, that's good.

"So, Naruto-sama, where are we going?" Chinatsu asked.

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks as he felt...something. It wasn't a bad feeling though, but it was sending out a signal to him. He could feel it.

"Naruto-sama?" Chiharu called out to the boy.

Said boy kept his gaze forward, towards the forest area and resumed walking, "This way." He told them. The twins didn't argue with their master and followed him to wherever he was taking them. Naruto was more focused on his destination that he didn't check to see if Chinatsu and Chiharu were following right behind him. He could hear it.

 _"Help me..."_

 _'There!'_

As he walked through the forest he saw a black cat, with two tails lying on the ground, shivering in pain. He wasted no time in going near the cat and picking it up as gently as he could, "Its okay." He said to the barely alive cat. Turning to his two creations he gave them an order, "Change of plans, we're heading back right now."

"Understood." They both said in unison.

Naruto headed in the direction to where his home was, along with the twin Shikigami. This cat has two tails. What are the odds he would run into a Nekomata of all things? But what bothered right now was the fact that this one was hurt, and badly. Hopefully Sage will be able to heal it because it really didn't look too good.

Practically crashing through the front door, Naruto urgently asked Sage to do whatever he could for the poor cat. Sage said nothing as he took the now unconscious Nekomata away from Naruto and into the back room somewhere. Naruto was left to wait alone until he heard some news about what could have possibly happened to the poor black cat. He went to the kitchen to make himself a snack and waited in silence.

"Waka, are you still feeling upset?" Chiharu asked, clearly concerned about what was going through his mind right now.

Naruto put the knife down, "I felt it..."

"Felt it? What did you feel?" Chinatsu wanted more elaboration.

The two Shikigami didn't hear anything and only followed after their young master because he felt something they couldn't.

"I..." he hesitated to get his words out, but managed to anyway, "I don't know how to describe it, but I felt this sudden emotion hit me full on...and then I heard a voice calling out for help."

That had never happened to him before until today. Granted it was a good thing that he did hear the voice of the inured Nekomata, but it was still strange to him that could hear it in the first place. He'll have to talk to his uncle about this.

Chiharu thought about what her creator said and had a theory, "Waka, I believe its possible that the reason you heard the Nekomata's voice is because you are now attuned to the voices of the yōkai that are gathering here in this village."

Naruto looked at her, "You really think that's why I was able to sense that Nekomata and hear its voice?"

"Yes, that is what I believe." She said.

Chinatsu also added in her two cents, "It makes sense actually. Out of all of the humans here you're the only one that has a special connection with the other side."

That did make sense.

No one in this village besides him can see or speak to the yōkai that have been gathering here because of him. There was this certain...connection between him and them that he doesn't feel with any of the humans here in the village for obvious reasons. But that wasn't important right now, what was important is the well-being of the Nekomata he found.

Hearing a creaking sound, Naruto forgot all about making himself a snack as he turned his attention to the door where Sage came out with the now sleeping cat. It looked much better than it before he brought it here, which was a good sign.

"Is it..." Naruto was hovering over the sleeping cat, his unspoken question still hanging in the air.

Sage rubbed the black cat as it purred in its sleep, "She's fine, its a good thing you found her when you did. Her injuries weren't as serious as they have looked, but from what I could tell this Nekomata was beaten and then abandoned right where you found her."

Beaten? Why?

Who could be so cruel as to hurt an innocent cat? Was it because she was a Nekomata and not a normal black cat? That's no excuse to hurt her like this!

Naruto held out his arms silently without a word, but Sage seemed to understand what he wanted and gave the female black cat over to the boy. The rising and fall of her back was proof that she was indeed alive and okay, but the bandages that were wrapped around her made his heart hurt. Beaten and then left alone in the forest. If he hadn't senses where she was, nor heard her voice then chances are she would be dead right now.

"Can I take her to my room?" Naruto asked.

"She's all yours."

Without another word Naruto went to his room, leaving Chiharu and Chinatsu behind in the kitchen with Sage. There was no telling how the cat would react when she wakes up, so Naruto thought it'd be okay to take her to his room. He placed her on the bed and simply left her there to sleep. It was warm and comfortable so she should sleep really good.

In the meantime he decided to get back to sowing some more cloths while waiting for the cat to wake up. Her injuries couldn't have been from another yōkai, they have a spoken vow that they will not harm each other while in this village. It couldn't have been a Bakemono because he wold have felt them, not only that but he had a feeling the creature wouldn't bother to leave her alive. So that only means she was hurt by humans. Humans from this village who have no problem being mean to him, and have now resorted to hurting an animal because it wasn't normal. Would they eventually do this to him to? Will they hurt him just like they hurt this innocent cat who did no wrong, and probably just wanted to make a friend? He had to fight back the shiver that tried to make its way down his spine. Shaking his head he went back to sowing, only to stop when he heard rustling and turned to see the black cat was waking up.

Naruto watched the cat as she slowly opened her eyes, surveying her surroundings before her eyes finally landed on him. It now became a stare down between him and the female Nekomata. There they simply stared into each other's eyes, waiting to see who would make the first move. To others this might not seem all that interesting and somewhat boring, but Naruto knew better than that. Sage told him that if you don't look a yōkai in the eyes then they will assume you either mean to kill them, or are up to something. So that's why he was looking this Nekomata in the eyes to assure it that he meant no harm and only want to help her recover and be her friend, if she'll let him.

After what felt like a millennium the one who ended up making the move first was the female Nekomata. She slowly rose on her hind legs before creeping towards him at the edge of the bed. He didn't move a muscle as she inched closer and closer towards him. Finally she was close enough to scratch his face if she wanted to, except she didn't do that. What she did do however was lick his nose then rubbed up against his face. He smiled as she continued to rub up against his face in what was probably gratitude for finding her and bringing her here. No longer hesitant, he picked her up and rubbed her back in soft, smooth strokes.

"I'm glad you're okay," Naruto gently said to her, "Sage-oji-san was the one that healed you, and said that you should be feeling fine now."

A purr was all he got as a response, which was strange because he could have sworn he heard her voice when he went to her location. Strange how she isn't talking to him right now though, or maybe she was merely sending a distress signal for help. Well, whatever the reason he's just glad she's safe and unharmed.

"How's our patient feeling?" Sage inquired as he stared at the two.

Naruto smiled, "She's feeling better now." The Nekomata was eyeing his uncle with suspicion before relaxing suddenly again in his arms. Maybe she remembered that his uncle was the one that healed her and didn't deem him as a threat? Its possible.

"That's good news, so have you decided on what to name her yet?" Sage questioned. Every time a new yōkai came to the village Naruto had a habit of giving them names, binding them to him without his knowledge.

The blonde thought about that to name his new friend. He didn't just want to name her "cat" or give her a cat like name. Her silly black fur reminded him of those from nobiliy, so her name will be...

"Hisa," he finally said, "Her name will be "Hisa."

Sage huffed in amusement, "Once again you think of fitting names for the yōkai you meet."

Naruto didn't respond to that and instead looked at Hisa, "What do you think? Do you like your new name?"

Hisa's response was to rub against his cheek with a purr, and he took that as she does indeed like it very much.

"She likes it!" Naruto said happily.

Sage chuckled, "That's good! Why don't you go outside and tend to the garden, while I check to make sure your new friend is okay."

With a nod, Naruto placed Hisa back on the bed and left the room. When Sage was sure that his nephew was indeed gone he turned his attention to the cat, "Color me surprised to see you here of all places...messenger of Omoikane."

Omoikane or better known as the "deity of wisdom and intelligence," is always called upon to ponder and counsel in the deliberation of other heavenly deities. Its been known to those in the Celestial Realm That Omoikane uses secret messengers and send them to the humans world to observe humans from afar. Truth be told, no one knows who he uses as his messengers, not even his own fellow deities. The only Sage knows is because he has been friends with the deity since he was very young. and because of this, Sage found out that he uses the Nekomata as secret messengers.

Hisa sat up as she eyed the man that was addressing her, "As expected of the "observer." You knew who my master was right away." She stated calmly.

Sage shrugged, "Not exactly hard since I'm the only one who knows that Omoikane uses the Nekomata as messengers. Its actually kind of sad that no one else, not even his fellow deities know about him using you lot as his own messengers."

Hisa huffed, "Indeed. You are a different story because Omoikane-sama trusts you, therefore we will trust you as well."

"Why, thank you." Sage bowed playfully before getting serious, "But the question remains as to why you are here in Konoha." The man already knew why, but wanted this cat to confirm it.

"Omoikane-sama ordered me to come to the human world to see Uzumaki Naruto," Hisa confirmed, "He has stated that he sensed a nostalgic energy coming off from the boy and sent me here to investigate."

Sage's eyes narrowed, 'Nostalgic?' What did he man by that, "While I'm not surprise he was able to sense Naruto's spiritual energy from here, what do you mean by "nostalgic?"

Hisa beckoned him to come closer so she could tell him the reason why. When he leaned down far enough, the black cat told the man why Omoikane-sama gave her such an important task. Sage's eyes widened before going back to normal. Leaning away from the cat he sighed before looking out the window to Naruto's bedroom, seeing the boy tend to the garden with his Shikigami.

"Somewhere deep down...I knew my nephew was more special than he realized," Sage finally said, "Is Omoi the only one to notice?"

"So it would seem, that is why I am," Hisa stated, "And since the boy has given me a name I am obligated to stay by his side. I'm sure Omoikane-sama will not mind."

"No, he won't." Sage agreed. Even Omoikane-sama wouldn't be angry if one of his messengers decides to stay with his nephew, which she doesn't have a choice in the matter seeing as how she's now bound to him because he gave her a name.

What's important right now is the very fact that Omoikane believed Naruto to be the reincarnation of someone very important to both Uzumaki and Senju clan. And he won't be the only one to notice for long. He'll have to prepare his nephew for what is to come, and it will be his choice to decide which side he chooses.

Humans or Yōkai.

 _ **Naruto's House, Nighttime**_

That night Naruto had a strange dream.

He didn't understand what it was about, but he was seeing the face of a girl about his age with long red hair and purple eyes. She was very cute actually. The girl was in a place that was full of light as she was sitting down on the ground talking to...

What...?

Is that...a giant fox?!

Looking more closely Naruto saw that it was indeed a giant fox with nine tails. And it was...chained up? That's so cruel! Why was the fox chained up in such a way? What horrible treatment! Shaking his head he focused on the girl as she moved her arms erratically as she continued to converse with the fox. At first he couldn't hear her, but after a little while her voice suddenly became very clear to him.

 _"Honestly, I really can't stand this village!" She complained, "Everyone treats me like I'm some kind of plague just because I wasn't born here!"_

 _The fox huffed in amusement as it listened to her complain about the people of the village._

 _She then let out a sigh, looking sad, "I really don't like it here. I know I promised Mito-sama...but the people here are so different from the ones back home, Kurama."_

Kurama? Was that the fox's name?

 _Kurama stared down at her before speaking, **"Are you the type that gives up that easily?"**_

 _She looked up at the fox with a scowl, looking offended by his accusation, "No way!"_

 _Kurama smirked, **"Then what're you complaining for? You're stronger than them, and you know you are. Show them what you're really made of, Kushina."**_

Kushina...this girl was his mother! Then this fox must be the Kyūbi! To think he was this big, not only that, but he and his mother were very close. Close enough to call each other by their names.

 _Kushina then let a frown show on her face, "Kurama...I know what Konoha really wants, but I won't let them! Mito-sama was unable to keep her promise to you, but I will!"_

Naruto didn't understand what they were talking about, but knew it was something very important. He watched as Kurama begin to smile, showing all of his teeth that looked to be quite menacing in fact, but his eyes didn't match his smile.

 _ **"Try not to die."**_

 _Kushina grinned, "Like I will-ttebane!"_

Naruto woke up as a bright light blinded him as he heard his mother's words when she was but a child. She didn't know that when she got older she would indeed die, and leave him all alone.

No...

He wasn't really alone.

Because Kurama was with him, and has been since the day he was born.

He wondered if they could ever be like that? Kurama was really close to his mother, so he was worried that the fox may not feel the same way about him though.

With a shake of his head he got out of bed and prepared to get ready for the day. He was simply going to read and train all day today, and even take a break to tend to his garden.

And that's what he did, he read up on yōkai, while his uncle told him about the different kind of gods that watch over the human world, either out of curiosity or boredom. After that he got to training, then he started sowing some new clothes. This has become a rather nice hobby of his as of late, and to top it all off he went back to the garden to make sure his crops were starting to harvest. So far they were, and he was very happy about that.

Naruto went back inside the house as he was tired and exhausted from his daily activities today. He got ready for bed before he went to his room, his head hitting the pillow. Once his head did hit the pillow he was out cold.

That night he saw another memory fragment.

This one seemed far more happier than the one before. His mother was talking to Kurama again, but this time the memory was a joyous one.

 _"Kurama, guess what?" Kushina happily said to the giant fox, "I'm going to be a mother!"_

Naruto felt something warm flutter in his chest as he saw his mother look excited about the prospect of being a mother. She was happy to have him...

That made him feel happy.

 _Kurama smirked down at her, **"You a mother? Poor unborn brat."**_

 _She pouted, "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!"_

Naruto chuckled as he watched his mother get angry at Kurama for teasing her about being a mother.

 _Kushina gave the fox a determined look, "Kurama...you already know that childbirth weakens the seal, right?"_

 _Kurama said nothing as he stared at her before his eyes widened, **"Kushina, you—!"**_

 _"Its fine! I promised, and I never go back on my promises!" Kushina fiercely said to him, "I may be out of it because of the birth, but I refuse to let you remain sealed any longer!"_

His eyes widened at his mother's declaration. So when she was about to give birth to him the seal weakens. His mother didn't want to seal Kurama again after she gave birth to him. His mother was truly a kind soul.

 _Kurama looked down sadly at what he'd just done in his rampage. Kushina was impaled, along with that blonde weakling by his very own claw. His own hands. Kushina smiled at him as she was slumped over, with Naruto crying the whole time._

 _"D..." Kushina spit out some blood as she tried to talk, "Don't look so sad...Kurama...I know you didn't mean to..."_

 _Kurama said nothing as he openly sobbed, tears falling from his red eyes._

 _"I'm sorry...that I couldn't keep my promise...but please...please...protect Naruto..." with those final words, Kushina took her last breath._

Naruto openly cried as he watched this scene play out before him. His mother was killed by Kurama, but he didn't mean to. He wishes he knew how to talk to Kurama and let him know it wasn't his fault, but he didn't know how.

As if hearing his inner turmoil, the scene finally changed and Naruto was brought to a sunset like setting, with an orange mind scape. He walked forward while looking around at his surroundings, wondering where he was. In his mind he knew he was still asleep, but what he really wanted to know was where he was.

Not wanting to leave until he figured out where he was, he kept walking until he finally arrived at what he suspects to be destination. As he got closer to what appeared to be a cage, his eyes widened at what he saw inside. There, eyeing him was the very same large orange fox that would come to be known as Kurama—his mother's friend.

Unable to help it, tears streamed down his face as he smiled at the large fox, "Kurama..."

Kurama's eyes widened as he stared down at the blonde haired boy, who he managed to call from within his mind scape. The boy he hasn't even met before until today greeted him with a happy expression and was even crying. Not only that...but the kid said his name with such fondness that he hasn't heard since his own father and Kushina were still alive.

With a huff, he decided to greet the boy back, "Naruto..."

A meeting between the fox and the boy...

Both of their fates intertwined...

* * *

 **Next Time : Yasashī Me**


	4. Yasashī Me

_**"Nothing is more frightening than a fear you cannot name"**_

 _ **—Cornelia Funke**_

* * *

It was on impulse.

His small arms trying to wrap themselves around Kurama's neck. He's only seen the fox in those memories that belonged to his mother. Kurama was warm to the touch and as an added bonus his fur was soft to the touch. With as comofortable as he is right now he could fall asleep, while using the giant fox as his own personal bed. Naruto rubs his face against the orange fur, letting out a hum of content. This is nice.

Kurama for his part, was letting the boy do as pleased. This takes him back to the time when Kushina met him within her mindscape for the very first time. The girl had no sense of danger as she ran right up to his imprisoned form, and hugged him saying his fur was warm and soft.

Like mother, like son.

Uzumaki's truly are a strange clan.

 **"Do you like my fur that much?"**

Naruto makes a cooing sound, "So soft..."

Kurama huffs in amusement, **"Sorry to spoil your enjoyment of my fur, but we have many things to discuss, Naruto."**

The boy kinda figured that.

Too bad because he was really enjoying himself.

Reluctantly, he lets Kurama go, but does sit down next to the giant fox and lean against him though. Kurama's soft and warm fur is something to be jealous about, and Naruto was definitely jealous.

Kurama doesn't try to shake Naruto off and decides speak, **"Kid, just how much do you know about me?"**

Honestly? Not much at all.

But he's willing to know everything about Kurama, since they'll always be together.

"I...don't know much about you, which is okay!" Naruto quickly says, "But, I'd really like to know everything about you..."

Kurama releases an amused huff, **"Then I suggest you stay awake 'cause there's no way in hell I'll be explaining everything twice."**

Naruto sat up straight, eager to hear what Kurama was about to tell him.

Kurama did not disappoint.

The child listened as the giant fox began to tell him a story about two brothers, who had a mother that they needed to stop. After that, the youngest brother went to the moon, while the oldest stayed on earth, having created nine chakra beasts that he intended to raise as his children. He had two sons, Asura and Indra—two brothers who once loved each other dearly before clashing due to the younger brother being chosen as the inheritor of Ninshū, while the oldest was not.

Amazing!

Kurama was explaining the origins of jutsu, but that's not its true name.

"So Indra, the older brother was jealous of Asura because he was chosen and not him?" Naruto questioned.

 **"That's right, his jealousy grew to the point where he attacked the village in order to challenge Asura, while at the same time wanting to get revenge on them both for denying him his birthright."**

Naruto frowned, "But Asura's father didn't chose wrong!"

 **"That is also true, the old man didn't make a mistake, but remember that humans can easily become corrupted by their negative feelings towards others."**

Naruto does know that.

Better than anyone.

 **"Asura won the battle over Indra, who fled in anger and vowed to take revenge against Ninshū, his brother, and the old man."**

"Did he?" Naruto hesitantly asked.

Kurama shook his head in the negative, **"He did vow to undo all of the old man's work, and Asura promised the old man that he would reincarnate along with his brother, so that they will eventually find a peaceful solution."**

Reincarnate...

Naruto snuggled into Kurama's fur a little, "Asura still loved him didn't he? His older brother."

 **"He did. Asura didn't have a single hateful bone in his body, and was always willing to trust others. Even saw us as his siblings, compared to Indra, who didn't really think of us as siblings. More like creations to be used."**

Naruto frowned again, "That's not what you are! You're a living being!" Kurama's no demon, either. Naruto may be a child, but he's sensitive to everything around him. When the villagers call him "demon brat" that meant they were also calling by extension a demon, when in truth he was no such thing.

Kurama smiles at the child's kind words before continuing, "There's another part to this story, so make sure you listen very carefully."

Naruto nodded eargerly, wanting to hear what else Kurama had to say.

The fox then moved on to tell the story of Hashirama and Madara. Naruto knows them both, one of the men became the first Hokage and had a statue of himself carved into the mountain. He doesn't know much about Madara though. Kurama began to explain about how Madara used his Sharingan on him to fight Hashirama, but the man managed to halt his movements and free him from Madara's control before seemingly ending the Uchiha's life. What made Naruto angry however was how Hashirama decided to seal Kurama away into his wife Uzumaki Mito. And if that wasn't enough, Kurama's siblings were treated the same way, and Hashirama gave Kurama's siblings away to other villages as a sign of "good faith" and to keep the balance of power.

How dare he!

Kurama and his siblings aren't weapons to be passed around like candy. Hashirama was the one that started the sealing of Kurama and his siblings into other humans.

Showing visible anger, he stood up from his position within his mind, surprising Kurama a little.

"I'm going to ask Sage-oji-san if he can help me get you out of here somehow!" Before Naruto left his mindscape he turned to Kurama, "My mom dying wasn't your fault, and I don't blame you. So please...don't blame yourself," he lifts up his pinky finger up to Kurama, "Promise?"

For a moment the giant fox stares at the legacy Kushina left behind before grinning like a fool, **"Yeah...I promise."**

 **~妖~**

Naruto woke abruptly, the first thing he did was force the covers off him before hightailing it downstairs.

"Waka?" Chiharu and Chinatsu exclaim in unison as they see him running towards them.

"Chinatsu, Chiharu, where's Sage-oji-san?!" He asked them.

"Downstairs, but why are—" Chiharu didn't get to finish her sentence as Naruto ran past her to get to where Sage was. Finally he spotted the man in the kitchen.

"Morning—" Sage started to say.

Naruto didn't give him time to finish, "I need your help! Tell me how I can free Kurama!"

Sage stilled at the boy's request. Did he finally speak to the fox?

"Kurama?"

"Ah, that's his name! But nevermind all that, do you know of a way for me to free him?" Naruto asks the man again.

Sage calmly sets the eggs down so that his focus was on Naruto, "Naruto, I need you to listen to me very carefully, okay?"

Naruto nods.

"Releasing Kurama from your seal would not be a very good idea—hold on! Listen to what I have to say first before you say something," he cuts the boy off before he could say anything, "The reason I say this is because releasing Kurama will kill you."

Naruto's protest died in his throat at the man's words, "What...?"

Sage nods his head, "When a Bijū is removed from the host, the host doesn't live for very long and usually dies right after."

Naruto didn't know that, but then again it does make sense after seeing those memories. Had Kurama not stabbed his mother with his claw after giving into his rage, she probably would not have survived for very long. She would have though if Kurama was sealed back inside her, but instead of doing just that the fox was sealed inside him instead. Not that he minded having Kurama inside him, but he would have liked to have his mom by his side.

Seeing that Naruto was understanding Sage's point he continued, "That's not to say there isn't a way for him to be outside, because there is."

Naruto's eyes lit up with interest, "Really?!"

"Mm, all we need to do is create a body for him like how you create your shikigami. Since his chakra leaks out of you anyway, gathering it won't be all that difficult." Sage explains.

"Tell me what to do!" Naruto says.

Sage crossed his arms, "First things first, we need to make him a body. Wood sounds like it would be stable, but there's a possibility Kurama won't able to channel energy through it. In that case...paper should do the trick. Yeah...origami paper!"

Naruto tilts his head, "Origami paper?"

Sage nodded, "You'll be the one that has to make it though. I'll talk you through it."

Naruto was so happy to hear that he would be able to make Kurama a body that he didn't really care that he had to make it himself, "Okay!"

For half of the morning, Naruto, thanks to Sage's helpful talk through created an origami body just for Kurama. And as one would guess, it was a fox with nine tails. It came great as Naruto made the origami the size of a normal fox, instead of making it something small. Finally, it was done. Naruto smiled at his finished creation, the color of the origami was orange just like Kurama, and the tails were perfectly detailed.

"Done..." he smiled.

Sage was impressed with how well it turned out, but wasn't all that surprised because if the boy could learn to sow, then he could learn to make origami creations.

"Now what?"

"Next, write Kurama's name on the origami creation, it doesn't matter where."

Naruto didn't think about it all that much as he wrote Kurama's name on the origami fox's forehead.

 **[九喇嘛]**

That is how his name is written.

"Finally, the last step. Pour some of Kurama's chakra into the origami fox."

With a nod, Naruto puts a hand ontop of the origami fox's head before closing his eyes. Sage-oji-san said that Kurama's chakra was leaking out of him anyway, so he should focus on transferring that leaked energy into the origami. Taking a deep breath, he focuses on Kurama's chakra to try and transfer some of it over to the origami. He tried Yin chakra, but that was a no go, so...maybe Yang might work.

And work it did.

Searing pain is what Naruto felt as he transfered some of Kurama's chakra over to the origami. Red, bubbling chakra covered his whole arm before covering the origami. This was so painful! Some of his skin was even peeling off! It hurts! It really hurts! But! He has to keep going! His vision began to blur due to the severe pain he was feeling, but regardless he kept on going. Soon though, red eyes began to take place on the origami fox, and fur replaced the paper structure. With a tired smile, the blonde allowed himself to succumb to the darkness as he passed out.

Something soft and warm was rubbing up against his cheek. Slowly, blue eyes were introduced to the world again as he recognizes the ceiling of his house. His right cheek felt warm and soft, so he turns his head in that direction slightly. Blue eyes came face to face with worried red ones.

Kurama...

He said up quickly.

It worked!

"Kurama...?" Naruto called out just to be sure.

Kurama moves his nine tails in unison before answering, **"You got it."**

The blonde gave into his impulse as he picked up the fox, giving him a hug, but not too tight. He noticed his hand was bandaged, but it didn't hurt. Must've been Sage-oji-san. But that wasn't important right now.

"It worked! It really worked! I'm so glad!" Naruto said as he hugged the mini fox happily.

Kurama didn't try to break away from the hug and simply allowed the boy to hug him as much as he liked. The fox wasn't complaining about his current form as he was the actually size of a fox, not to mention he could access some of his own chakra through this body of his. And as an added bonus, he was now able to breath in the outside air and do whatever he pleases.

Naruto releases Kurama from the hug, but placed the fox in his lap, "Are you hungry? Want me to make you something?"

Kurama thought about for a moment before giving a reply. In truth, he didn't really need any sustenance to survive since he was made of chakra, but he'll probably need some while in this body.

 **"I'm curious to see what you'll make for me."**

Naruto beamed as he cradled Kurama in his arms and heading for the kitchen. Sage-oji-san was already there, waiting for him.

"Welcome back from dreamland, sunshine." Sage greeted.

"I'm going to make something for Kurama now, do you mind?" Naruto questions.

"Not at all, I'm sure Kurama won't mind you making something for him." Sage said.

Naruto placed Kurama on the kitchen chair before proceeding to make some food for the possible hungry fox. He was a little worried since he doesn't quite know what Kurama would like, but he wasn't going to let that stop him.

Sage meanwhile decided to converse with the fox, "So what do you think?"

Kurama responded quickly, **"He's different."**

"Just like Lady Kushina, yes? Or is he the same as her?"

 **"Both. Kushina accepted me, and didn't try to use me for anything. From the moment she met me within her inner world she became determined to free me, even at the cost of her own life. She claimed that is what her Uzumaki blood demanded, and she listened."** Kurama explained.

Sage gives the fox an amused look, "That's the case with us Uzumaki's. We follow the blood will of our ancestors. Lady Mito was like that as well, her blood demanded the same thing, to free you from her. You should not have been sealed within her in the first place, had it not been for that tree hugging fool of a husband of her's then..."

Kurama snorts, **"Mito would often come to me and complain about Hashirama Senju. For as much as she cared about him, there were times where she questioned his decisions. She did tell me that she was furious at him when he gave my siblings away to other villages as a sign of "good faith." Went three months without speaking to the fool."**

"Only three months?" Sage almost choke on his laughter, "In the past when someone made her really angry she wouldn't speak to them for more than just a mere three months. She went easy on him."

 **"Real easy."** Kurama could agree to that.

"But, the fact that she showed genuine anger about what Hashirama did to your siblings proves just how much she really cared about you. We Uzumaki's are different from normal humans, as you can already tell." Sage's eyes instinctively trailed over to Naruto.

Kurama's eyes also go over to the blonde, and agreed with Sage once more. Mito, Kushina, and now Naruto. Only the Uzumaki clan follow the voice of their own blood.

"By the way, I tweaked the seal a little bit while Naruto was passed out, so that your chakra's aren't intertwined anymore. I don't know what Minato Namikaze was trying to pull by doing that, but it's been fixed." Sage had a pretty good idea as to what Minato was trying to do, but decides to stay quite about it in front of Naruto.

Kurama doesn't say anything, but he too knows what Minato Namikaze's intentions were.

"Not to mention, you're only the Yang half of your soul, your Yin is somewhere else." Sage said.

 **"Yeah, sealed inside that Yondaime, whose in the belly of the Shinigami he summoned."** Kurama confirms.

"Shinigami? And what about you being only the Yang half?" Naruto interrupts their conversation, bringing a plate of food for Kurama to eat.

Kurama stares at the food placed before him and takes a small bite, his eyes widening before digging right in. Guess that means he likes it.

Sage sighs, deciding now would be the right time to tell Naruto, "The Kurama sealed inside you is the 'Yang' part of his soul. He was split in two, the Yang half going inside you, while his 'Yin' half is somewhere else."

Naruto's hand froze as he lifts his head, "Split his soul...in two...?"

Kurama decides to take it from here, **"When Minato Namikaze sealed me into you, he summoned the Shinigami sealing teachnique to do it. He split me in two, my Yang half going inside you, while Yin half went inside him as his soul was taken by the Shinigami after he summoned it."**

Split Kurama's soul in half...Minato Namikaze did...? Wait, a minute!

Naruto slams his hands down on the table, "Spliting Kurama's soul is already awful...but if he sealed the Yang half into me, then why...why didn't he seal the other half into my mother?!"

Sage was silent, and Kurama had the same sentiments as Naruto. Kushina suffered a stab wound because of him, but had Namikaze sealed the Yin half into her instead of himself then she might still be here.

"Is there a way...is there any way we can get the other half back?" Naruto asks his uncle.

Sage thought about it for a moment, "The Yin half should reappear on its own soon, but I'm afraid I can't give you an accurate timeframe unfortunately. And there's no telling what sort of mental state the Yin half will be in once it reappears. Minato Namikaze may have sealed the other half within himself, but that doesn't mean it'll stay with him for long. Yin and Yang cannot stay separated from each other for too long, and will seek each other out in order to reunite and become whole once again." Whether or not the man was aware of that himself remains unknown.

That brought Naruto some relief, for when the Yin half does reappear, he can make Kurama whole again. But whatever feelings he held for his father were pretty much nonexistent at this point. He didn't hate the man, but he doesn't care for him either.

Naruto finished eating and gathered Kurama into his arms, "I'm going to bring Kurama outside and show him my vegetable garden, is that okay?"

"Go ahead, you can even introduce him to your friends, too." Sage suggested.

"Sure!"

As Naruto leaves with Kurama for the day, Sage stood up from his chair as there was something he needed to do. After examining Naruto's seal he saw that some sort of 'key' was needed. And there was only one person Minato Namikaze would entrust the key to. Jiraiya may not have it with him, but the toads he commands do.

He smirked, "Time for some toad hunting."

 _ **Konohagakure no Sato—December, 12:45 PM**_

Naruto lets out a breath as there was a blanket of white all around him. The winter season has arrived in Konoha, and that means snow will appear and fall to the ground, sticking to it and accumulating just as quickly. The cold didn't bother Naruto though as he was wearing a red scarf around his neck. His mother had made it for him according to what his uncle told him as he snuck into the Hokage's office and grabbed it from a box he kept hidden somewhere. Of course Naruto was wearing it, and why wouldn't he? This scarf was handmade by his precious mother, so of course he'll take care of it. Since it was the winter season, that meant it was time for the Academy enrollment. Naruto could care less about it, but the Hokage had already made the decision to enroll him. There was probably a round of protests though, and for once Naruto agreed with them. He really wasn't all that interested in becoming a ninja, but what's done is done.

"Waka, are you sure that the cold does not bother you?"

Naruto turns to his two new Shikigami that he created some time ago. The one who made the suggestion was the one in green. She had green hair, tied in a high ponytail that reached her knees, green kimono with green butterfly patterns on them, dark green lipstick and orange eyes. Naruto gave her the name Chizue—meaning, "durability."

"No, the cold doesn't really bother me."

Chizue nodded, "I understand, but if it does please tell us."

"Nee-san is right. We would not want you to catch a cold." The girl next to her added.

She was another shikigami he created that acted as Chizue's younger sister. Unlike Chizue, this girl has fair colored skin, with the same orange eyes as Chizue. She was wearing a white kimono, with white butterflies on them. Long white hair, with long fringe which hangs mostly over the right side of her face. Her name is Chiaki—meaning, "sparkling light."

Naruto began walking, "If I feel weird in any way, I promise to tell you guys."

"The snow is absolutely lovely." Chiaki complimented.

"Yes, its a nice and pure color of white. Just like you." Chizue says to her sister.

Chiaki beams at that.

Naruto chuckled as he kept his eyes forwardm frowning when he saw something up ahead. From what he was able to see, there were three boys surrounding someone. But they weren't being friendly.

Bullies.

He's had to deal with some back at the orphanage (he's never been more grateful to not be there anymore), and he could only wonder if bullying is still going on there.

Refusing to wait around, he created a snowball before proceeding to throw it at the back of the boy in the front's head, making him fall over and crash into the snow, face first. While not what he was intending, doing that did get their attention.

Now that the boy in middle was on the ground, he could clearly see that the person they were trying to bully was a girl, and a Hyūga no less. Her eyes seemed different from the normal featureless white eyes that is known to be a common Hyūga trait. Compared to their's, her's was more lavender colored. She had pretty hair, too. It was dark blue that was kept in a hime-cut, and it looked to be shining, even in this snow.

Pretty...

"Hey, its him." One of the boy's whispered.

"Yeah, we're not supposed to get near him." The other whispered.

Naruto ignored them, his eye only focusing on the girl, she seemed to be okay, no wounds on her at all. Good. But it did look like she was crying though.

The boy in the middle stood up, "So its the freak! Are you friends with the Creepy Eyes?"

Naruto frowned at him, but gave no answer to his demand, "Leave."

"Huh?"

"Leave, and don't bother her again." Naruto repeats.

Naturally, the boy in the middle lashed out at Naruto, "Shut up, you—" Naruto was the fastest as he already had a palm thrust to the boy's gut, the boy fainted on the spot. Sage-oji-san had been training him to the bone since the very beginning, so his reflexes were a lot faster than some bully.

"Are you going to leave?" Naruto repeats casually.

Terrified, the other two boys, pick their friend up and begin to runaway.

Rolling his eyes, Naruto approached the girl, "You okay?"

She blushed a little before nodding, "Yes, um, thank you for saving me."

Naruto blushed a little himself, not used to being thanked by someone before, "N-No, well that is, um...you're welcome."

"Um, my name is H-Hyūga Hinata." Hinata introduced herself.

"Uzumaki Naruto...why were those three picking on you?" He asks.

Hinata looked down sadly, "They said that...my eyes are creepy..."

He raises a brow at that. Creepy eyes? There's nothing wrong with her eyes at all, they look pretty normal to him.

"There isn't anything wrong with your eyes, they look just fine to me. Actually, they look, well...they look really pretty actually." He admits, acting a little shy.

Hinata's face became red at that, "Th-Thank you, Naruto-kun..."

Naruto-kun?

For some reason he didn't dislike it when she called him that.

"Th-Then...is it okay if I...if I call you, Hinata-chan?" He asks her.

She looked surprised by the request, but gives him a positive response, "Y-Yes, I would like that very much."

"I-I see..."

Chizu and Chiaki were smiling at the cute scene, but like all good things...they never last long. Out of the corner fo her eye Chizue spotted movement, and reacted accordingly by grabbing the wrist of the would be assailant.

"And what pray tell do you think that you're doing, Hyūga?" She inquired as she stopped a man who is clearly from the Hyūga clan from trying to harm Naruto.

The man grunted as she had a firm grip on his wrist, "Getting Lady Hinata away from—"

"Oh, and what were you about to say?" Chiaki cut him off with a smile that was anything pleasant, especially since she had white silk wrapped around his neck. The indication was clear: Say something vicious about her master, and she'll end you where you stand.

"Humans truly are disrespectful and ungrateful creatures. Trying to harm our Waka, after he had just saved her from three boys who were bullying her." Chizue frowned.

"This can't come as a surprise really, after all the only decent human in this whole village is our adorable Waka." Chiaki smiled.

Hinata and Naruto saw what was going on and walked over to them, "What they say is true, Kō! Naruto-kun saved me!"

"But, Lady Hinata, he's—gh!" Kō grunted in pain again as Chizue tightened her grip on his wrist, as Chiaki herself made the white silk around his neck tightened just as much.

Naruto sighs at their protectiveness, "Chizue, Chiaki, that's enough. Since he didn't get the chance to attack me there's no need to be so rough with him," he then turns to Hinata with a smile, "See you around, Hinata-chan."

Hinata gives him a sad look as he was about to leave, "Y-You too..."

"Come on you two, we have a lot of errands we need to do today." Naruto tells them as he walks away from the area.

"Oh, where should we head to first?" Chiaki inquired.

"We will be visiting Katsumi-sama today, then we will head to Ichiraku's to pick up our order from him. After that we will see if there are 'others' in the area." Chizue was careful not to say the word 'yōkai' in front of two humans.

Hinata watched them go with a sad expression, she wanted to talk with him a little more. Maybe she'll get another chance to see him at the academy! She really hoped so. But more importantly...

"Kō...please don't ever attack Naruto-kun again." Hinata requested.

Kō looked shocked by her request, "But, Hinata-sama—"

"Please." Hinata insisted.

At that, he bit his tongue, "Yes, Hinata-sama..."

"Thank you." She breathed a sigh of relief.

She may not know the reason as to why her bodyguard showed such obvious hostility towards the boy who just saved her life, but she wants to know.

Uzumaki Naruto...

 _'His eyes are like the sky.'_

 **~妖~**

 _'Her eyes really are pretty.'_ Naruto thought as they just left the red light district, having met up with Katsumi. The bone woman told them something interesting, something about a new yōkai of the snow. Naruto was interested in meeting this new yōkai, but only after they finished their errands first. Then he'd like to get back home and spend the rest of the day with Kurama.

"Next is Ichiraku, correct?" Chiaki inquires.

"Yes, Teuchi-san is probably waiting for us." Chizue answers.

"And we're on our way there now. Sage-oji-san already paid for the order before he left, so all we have to do is pick it up." Naruto explains.

They made it to Ichiraku's, and sure enough the nice man was waiting for them, along with his daughter Ayame. She was a nice girl and greeted them just as warmly as her father. Ayame gushed over Chizue and Chiaki's kimono's and asked where they got them from. The two Shikigami told her that Naruto made them, stating that he makes his own clothes all the time. Ayame was sold, and practically begged Naruto to make her a kimono, too. Teuchi laughed at Naruto's bewildered expression.

Naruto did agree to make her a kimon in the end though, so all's well that ends well.

"Are we going to see that new yōkai now, waka?" Chiaki asked.

"Later, right now we need to get this food back home so that it doesn't get cold." He said.

"Understood." They both said.

First thing they'll do when they get back is eat this delicious food and then—

Something brushed against his senses that made him stop dead in his tracks. This was just like that time when he found that cat, but something was different. He wasn't sensing an animal this time though...

"A human." He said.

"Waka?" Chizue inquired.

Like before, Naruto ignored his two shikigami, opting to focus more on what he was sensing. Where is it? Where? Soon he found where it was, and the location...

"Buried beneath the snow!" Naruto kneeled down as he saw a human shaped lump in front of him. Kneeling down, he removed some of the snow and saw it was a person's face. The person was unconscious of course, but Naruto kept removing the snow away from the lump and revealed it to be a child who looked to be around his age.

It was a boy. He had tousled shoulder-length and blond hair. From what Naruto can see, the boy was wearing lavender long-sleeved shirt with a green scarf along with dark pants and shoes. Touching his cheek with the palm of his hand, Naruto felt his cold skin, but something else.

"He's still breathing! We need to get him back to the house, now!"

Chiaki bent down, "Please allow me to carry him, waka."

"Okay." Naruto gave the boy over to Chiaki, who cradled him in her arms in an effort to give him some warmth. With the unknown boy safely secured, they wasted no time in heading back to the house.

* * *

Hiruzen had been watching Naruto through the crystal ball when the child steps inside the village. For some reason he was unable to watch him at his new residence, meaning that something was preventing him from doing so. But Naruto's just a child, he's not capable of creating barriers at such a young age. So whenever his ANBU reported that the boy was inside the village walls, he would waste no time in taking out his crystal ball and watching him.

The butterfly tattoo on one side of his face was something that surprised him, but it was the women with different colored hair and kimono's that worried him. He had no idea where they came from or what their intentions are. He had his ANBU watch them specifically, but so far they've shown no signs of wanting to hurt Naruto in any way. Quite the opposite really, they were acting as his bodyguards, as he has just witnessed when a member of the Hyūga clan tried to attack him. Both women, clad in green and white reacted quickly and would have killed the man had Naruto not stopped them.

The only time Naruto comes into the village at all nowadays is to head off either the light district to talk to someone he knows there (good god, please may he not be another Jiraiya), go near the gates of the Forest of Death and speaking to someone, who was obviously hiding in there, and to see Teuchi.

But perhaps with the meeting of the young Hyūga heiress his presence within the village may become more frequent.

He was beginning to worry about the boy though, one of his sensors came to him and stated that the air around the boy was different from before. Like he was part of a different world from them, utter nonsense in his opinion. But something was definitely different with Naruto, and he needed to find out what. His gaze was still on the boy as one of the females was carrying the unconscious blonde boy, who Hiruzen recognized as one of the new orphans that just showed up at the gates of Konoha one day. The child was brought to the hospital and was looked over, there was nothing out of the ordinary though as everything was okay. When the boy woke up the only thing he remembered was his name, which was Menma, but then again that name could only be an alias and not a real name.

As Naruto entered the forest, he lost sight of him immediately. With a sigh, the old man leaned against his chair and stared at nothing in particular. This was one of those times where he wished he hadn't taken the hat back, but there was no other choice. Other than appoint a new successor to the hat, but Jiraiya had refused before, and left before he could ask again, and Tsunade...

Best not to think about it.

Right now he was more interested to know why Menma was left unconscious in the snow, when he plainly told the head mother of the orphanage to look after him.

Looks like he needs to have another talk with her.

* * *

Naruto has been staring at the sleeping boy's face for awhile now.

When they arrived back at the house, Naruto wasted no time telling his shikigami to prepare a hot bath for the boy for he was still cold to the touch, but still breathing. After they all ate, Naruto went to the guest room to check on the boy, and as he expected he was still asleep. He touched his skin again, it was warm this time. That was a good sign.

Now that he was able to get a good look at him, he noticed the boy's face was indeed unfamiliar to him. Meaning he must be new to the village, and was probably living at the orphanage. And if that's the case, then why was he outside, unconscious in the snow? Did that evil woman toss him out? He hopes to find out, but only after the boy wakes up, but that could be for awhile. There's no telling just how long he left outside for.

A groan pulled him from his inner thoughts as the boy slowly opened his eyes. Naruto got a good look at them and saw they were a grey color.

Grey eyes met blue ones, both boy seemed to still as they didn't know what to say to each other. Naruto decided to break the ice between them.

"H-Hi...my names Uzumaki Naruto."

The boy blinked, his face completely calm, "Naruto..."

"What about you, what's your name?"

Grey eyes looked up at the ceiling for a moment before responding, "Menma...my name...is Menma."

Menma...

What a nice name.

"Nice to meet you, Menma." Naruto greeted with a smile.

Menma turned to give him a bewildered look, making Naruto raise a confused brow, "Is there something wrong?"

"No, its just...I wasn't expecting you to greet me so kindly..." Menma confesses, sounding a little happy.

"Why wouldn't I?"

Menma sits up from the incredibly comfortable futon with a small smile, "I'm not...used to it. And since suddenly waking up here, it isn't any different."

Naruto frowned at that, "You woke up here? Do you not remember where it is you come from?"

Menma shook his head, "Sandaime-sama said they found me outside the gates of the village unconscious. I woke up in the hospital and couldn't remember anything except my name."

 _'Outside the village gate...'_

Was he abandoned?

"Sandaime-sama brought me to the orphanage once I was fully recovered," Menma continued, "But...everyone there stayed away from me, and the head mother didn't see that as a bad thing."

Naruto scowled. That orphanage should just be shut down permanently.

"That's horrible..." Naruto voiced his sympathy for Menma.

Menma shook his head, "Its all right. Thanks to the voices I hear, I'm never lonely."

...what?

Voices?

"Um...what do you mean by "voices?" Naruto carefully asks.

Menma didn't mind answering the question as he smiled, "Since I came here I've been able to hear their voices. They called themselves something..."

Wait a minute, could he be able to...

"Do you...do you mean, yōkai?" Naruto decided to take a gamble and ask him.

Menma gives him a surprised look before smiling a little wider, "Yes, that's it! Can you also...!"

"I can see them!"

"That's amazing! I can only hear them, but its always nice to hear what they have to say. Although..." Menma showed a nervous smile, "The pranks they pull on the head mother and the rest of the kids are a little too much..."

Naruto snorted before bellowing into full blown laughter, and Menma joined in on the laugh. This is the first time Naruto's laugh with another kid his age. Its fun.

Really...really fun.

 **~妖~**

Two days past, and Menma had already gone back to the orphanage. Naruto asked why he was left unconscious in the snow, but the boy didn't tell him. Naruto suspected it was that evil woman's doing. Menma recuperated in Naruto's house, and while there he was able to meet his shikigami, and even Kurama. Now that was a funny meeting. Kurama was taken completely by surprise by Menma's greeting and being petted by him, too. Naruto told Menma everything about himself, and long haired blonde listened without interruption. After he finished telling Menma his story, the boy brought out an Ocarina and started playing a song out of nowhere. Naruto listened to the song with his eyes closed, feeling relaxed as he listened to his friends wonderful song.

Friend.

He has a human friend now.

Don't get him wrong, being friends with the yōkai all around him wasn't bad at all, but it's nice to have a human friend.

And speaking of yōkai.

"Hello again, Fuyuko." Naruto greets the pale skinned woman, wearing a pure white kimono. She had long icy blue hair, with matching colored eyes, and pink lipstick to top it all off. Naruto met her yesterday when he was walking around with Chiaki and Chiharu. She was sitting up in a tree just singing to herself, Naruto was entranced by it that he couldn't help but compliment her once she was finished. She was flattered by his words and gave him a hug before introducing herself.

Yuki-Onna, snow woman.

Naruto didn't waste time giving her a name after their first encounter. Fuyuko seemed to really like her new name as she hugged him once more.

"Naruto." Fuyuko greeted with a smile before giving him one of her trademark hugs.

He hugged her back and loved the feel of her skin against his. It was nice and cool, not too cold at all.

"Where are you headed off today?" Fuyuko asked.

"Nowhere in particular, maybe go off and see if there's any yōkai out here in the snow." He answers, "Do you want to come along with me?"

"Yes!" Fuyuko looked excited to come along.

Chizue and Chinatsu didn't say a word, but they did smile as they followed their master and his new friend.

Naruto hoped these peaceful days of his would last forever.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 _But nothing ever does._

* * *

 **Kyōmibukai Hitobito**


	5. Another Author's Note

For those of you who think my stories on here are abandoned, they are not. I'll announce if my stories are abandoned, so don't make assumptions. Another thing is, writing Is nothing more than a hobby of mine, and I do have a life that doesn't revolve around fanfiction, I've been studying for my final exams, and since I'll be graduating in December, I don't have time to write as much for I've been studying. I'll get back on here in January or February.


End file.
